TB does NOT stand for taro and banana

Written by Cherelle Jackson
Friday, 28 March 2008
If the above heading caught your attention, then my mission has been accomplished. No, TB does not stand for taro and banana as some might think, it stands in fact for tuberculosis. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says that tuberculosis or TB is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs. But, TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal. Further to that, TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The bacteria are put into the air when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs or sneezes. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. However, not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. People who are not sick have what is called latent TB infection. People who have latent TB infection do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms, and cannot spread TB to others. But, some people with latent TB infection go on to get TB disease. People with active TB disease can be treated if they seek medical help. Even better most people with latent TB infection can take medicine so that they will not develop active TB disease. The reality So now that you have sufficiently swamped by the medical definition of TB, let’s explore the human aspect of this disease. Yesterday, as you may draw from published reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) commemorated World TB Day on Monday universally, yesterday for us. TB is not an issue to be taken lightly, and if the world rates speak for anything, it is anything but. Currently Samoa along with many Pacific islands are at a somewhat TB prevalence level compared to other regions of the world. According to WHO an estimated 1.5 million people died from TB in 2006. In addition, another 200,000 people with HIV died from HIV-associated TB. To them, if TB disease is detected early and fully treated, people with the disease quickly become non-infectious and eventually cured. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), HIV-associated TB, and weak health systems are major challenges. The World Health Organization (WHO) report, Global Tuberculosis Control 2008, released yesterday, finds that the pace of the progress to control the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic slowed slightly in 2006, the most recent year for which data were available. The new information documents a slowdown in progress on diagnosing people with TB. Between 2001 to 2005, the average rate at which new TB cases were detected was increasing by 6% per year; but between 2005 and 2006 that rate of increase was cut in half, to 3%. WHO is working to dramatically reduce the burden of TB, and halve TB deaths and prevalence by 2015, through its Stop TB Strategy and supporting the Global Plan to Stop TB. The fix Like much of these health issues the cure starts with awareness. At a workshop held yesterday by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in partnership with WHO, this was one of the major aspects of the campaign brought forth. According to the health practitioners there yesterday, the commitment to TB by MOH is one that involves the community. The international efforts to curb TB has been adapted locally for years, and although the numbers shown for the cases show consistence, it is a trend that they are not taking lightly. The presence of the Minister of Health, the Chief Executive Officer of Health and many of its executives speak volumes for their commitment to curbing the disease. So no, TB does not stand for taro and banana, but there is certainly more room to create awareness that indeed TB stands for tuberculosis and that it is fatal. The media perhaps has a bigger role to play in this campaign than anticipated by health organizations. This is perhaps a partnership that needs forging for the sake of the ones affected by TB and other diseases. Manuia le Aso Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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