World Tuberculosis Day is a date to renew the pledge to fight and eradicate tuberculosis from around the globe.
Tuberculosis has affected several people through history and has even resulted in death of a lot its victims. It has been detected in 9,000 years old human skeleton found near Israel and in 17000 years old bovine fossils. On a mythical perspective it has also been associated with fantastic stories of vampires, during the Industrial revolution.
Research and History of Tuberculosis
Although Robert Koch identified and presented the tuberculosis virus in March 1882, this disease was associated with tubercles in 1689 by Richard Morton. It was not named tuberculosis until 1839 by J.L. Schönlein. The first TB sanatorium was opened in 1859 in what is now Sokolowsko, Silesia.
The identification and description of the virus was done on March 24th, 1882 by the above mentioned Dr. Koch, who was awarded with Nobel Prize for his discovery in 1905. At the very beginning, the researcher did not believe the association of the human disease with the bovine one; but with the implementation of pasteurization, the disease showed a reduction in its frequency.
Fighting the Disease
From the moment Dr Koch detected the virus, the presence of tuberculosis has reduced constantly. But even with that reduction, it is still one of the most widespread diseases in several parts of the world. Under developed countries like Swaziland and India have higher numbers of cases. Tuberculosis has the second highest number of deaths caused by an infectious disease after HIV/AIDS.
Spreading Awareness of TB
To generate awareness of the disease and for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the public presentation of the virus, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease suggested making March 24th as the official World Tuberculosis Day. This proposal was made as one of the steps made by the IUATLD and the World Health Organization in the campaign “Defeat TB: Now and Forever”.
The day was not officially recognized as an annual event by the World Health Assembly from WHO (World Health Organisation) and the United Nations until 1992. From that year on, World Tuberculosis Day has been celebrated and different events have been taken place in several countries such as Netherlands (1995), Germany (1997), and London (1998) among others. Also, every year the World Tuberculosis Day has had diverse themes. This year it is “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-Free World. You can make history. End TB”.
Although there has been a drastic reduction of tuberculosis, it is still one of the 10 most deadly infectious diseases around the globe. WHO leads a worldwide campaign every year and plans years ahead along with other institutes and organization to stop the spread of the disease. The main objective is to get the number to zero and have a world free of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis in India
As mentioned above, one of the countries with the highest incidence of tuberculosis is India, with actually the 25% of cases worldwide. By the year 2017, the illness has taken 500,000 lives in the country, with an incidence of around 2 million cases a year. Not all the cases result in death. On most occasions the disease lies in a latent state, which is worse, since this way it spreads faster.
The Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi has launched a campaign to eradicate tuberculosis from India by 2025. “The government has made a provision of spending USD 100 million per annum for providing nutrition support to the patients suffering from disease,” he said. “The National Strategic Plan to eradicate TB by 2025 is operational and the government is constantly increasing budget for the schemes to counter the disease,” he said.
