Saturday, March 24, World TB Day, presents the critical problem that still not enough is being done to stop TB. This grave global public health threat requires an immediate and urgent global response.
About one third of the worlds population is infected with TB-D that is, they have a latent TB infection that may later cause disease to develop. Nearly 9 million new cases develop every year. The World Health Organization declared the disease a global emergency as long ago as 1993.
The answers are not simple, but require massive mobilization of the human will. New technology has the potential to revolutionize TB control. But we can have a major impact on TB in most parts of the world today, by rapidly identifying and curing patients with active disease. This approach is at the heart of the internationally recognized strategy for TB control D the DOTS strategy, which has proven remarkably effective. Some countries in Asia and Latin America have shown the way. In other countries, TB remains a catastrophe in need of urgent measures.
Progress in TB prevention and control is integrally linked to health development overall. By supporting efforts to curb the new strain of drug-resistant tuberculosis in the world, the U.S. would not only demonstrate its moral leadership and concern for the fate of its neighbors, but would mitigate the risks posed to Americans at home.
World TB Day. The time is now. We all care and can pledge our support, learn of the efforts in place to eradicate this threat to humanity and act by insisting upon increased response.
Nancy Curtiss
Arlington