Facts of the Matter -- Tuberculosis

Jason Grotto
The Rotarian -- July 2009

Pink Lung Painting by Maya Chaphalkar

Tuberculosis was once associated with vampirism because symptoms include red, swollen eyes sensitive to bright light; pale skin; low body heat; a weak heart; and coughing up blood. Source: wikipedia
Studies show that the oldest human remains revealing signs of tuberculosis are more than 9,000 years old and that the disease coevolved with humans. But the earliest traces of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, one of the microbes that cause TB, date back 18,000 years in the remains of bison. Source: wikipedia
In the early 1900s, TB killed one out of every seven people living in the United States and Europe. Today, one-third of the world’s population is infected with the disease, and nearly two million die from it each year. Most of the deaths occur in the developing world, with Asia accounting for more than half. Although population growth has caused the total number of TB cases to increase by nearly three million during the past two decades, the incidence rate has been declining slowly, by about 1 percent per year. In 2004, the global rate peaked at about 142 cases per 100,000 people, studies show. Today, the rate is 137. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization
TB is a preventable and curable disease. Detection is important, which is why the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and others recommend testing populations who are at risk. The Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine used on infants in the developing world reduces their risk. Source: World Health Organization
There are two stages of TB: latent and active. Both require a cocktail of drugs. Treatment to cure the disease takes at least four months for latent TB and as long as nine months for active TB.
Much of the decrease in the incidence rate of tuberculosis is due to a global initiative called the Stop TB Partnership, which began in London in 1998. Twenty countries representing 80 percent of the world’s TB cases signed the Amsterdam Declaration to Stop TB in March 2000, leading to a worldwide plan to halt the disease by 2015. The plan was launched in 2006 and called for increased funding and awareness, greater access to medication and vaccines, and support from developed countries. The cost of the plan is US$56.1 billion over 10 years. Today, organizers estimate that only about 45 percent of the funding needed to carry out the plan will likely be available. The Stop TB Partnership includes more than 1,000 governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Source: www.stoptb.org
The Rotary Foundation has approved a grant of nearly $300,000 for equipment and other needs at a tuberculosis clinic under construction in Reynosa, Mexico, located along the U.S.-Mexican border. Source: District 5930
TB is among the most deadly diseases for people with HIV because they have weakened immune systems. An airborne disease, it once was referred to as consumption because many believed it consumed people from within. About 75 percent of active cases are pulmonary TB, which attacks the lungs. But the disease can spread from the lungs to the central nervous system, lymphatic system, and even the skin. Sources: World Health Organization, wikipedia
Those working to combat TB are especially concerned about a new strain of the disease known as multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR-TB, which is resistant to at least two of the most effective anti-TB drugs available. More than half of the 500,000 MDR-TB cases reported in 2007 were found in five countries: India, China, Russia, South Africa, and Bangladesh. In May 2007, researchers identified two cases of TB in Italy that were resistant to all available anti-TB drugs. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The bacteria that cause TB multiply very slowly compared with other disease microbes. Untreated, the disease can take months to become fatal.
Despite concerns to the contrary, studies show that the risk of contracting TB on an airplane flight of less than eight hours is very low. According to the CDC, the probability of infection is about 1 in 1,000 when there is someone with active TB on a flight. Catching the flu is more likely. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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