WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY 2022: INVEST TO END TB, SAVE LIVES

By- Minu Nayak

(The Quiver) : Why is world TB day celebrated on 24th March?
World Tuberculosis Day is observed every year on 24 March to create awareness among the public about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease. The theme of World TB day 2022- Invest to end TB, Save lives.’- conveys the urgent need to invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve the commitments to end TB made by global leaders.
Programme for the prevention of tuberculosis:
In 2020, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. 5.6 million men, 3.3 million women and 1.1 million children. TB is present in all countries and age groups.
According to the India TB Report 2019, the success rate of treatment of drug resistant TB patients has remained stagnant at 47 percent.
In March 2018, the Government of India launched a scheme called ‘Nikshay Poshan Yojana’ to provide nutritional support to TB patients. Under this scheme, In this scheme in India to provide 500 rupee per month for tuberculosis patients to buy food.
The National TB Programme (NTP) was launched by the Government of India in 1962 in the form of District TB Centre model involved with BCG vaccination and TB treatment.
India has the highest burden of tuberculosis with 23% of the global burden of annual incidence of active TB patients. The estimated incidence of TB in India is about 28,00,000 accounting for about a quarter of the world’s TB cases as per the Global TB report 2017. Odisha figured among top-ten TB incidence States in the country. District-wise details reveal that Gajapati has the highest incidence of 275/lakh/year in State and is followed by Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Rayagada and Sundergarh. Annual Total Notification Rate of TB in the districts of Balangir, Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj and Dhenkanal is 118, 203, 268 and 147, respectively.
More investment will save more lives, accelerating the end of the TB epidemic.

What is TB infection?
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by germs that are spread from person to person through the air. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, or the spine. A person with TB can die if they do not get treatment.

Symptoms include a bad cough (lasting longer than two weeks), pain in the chest, and coughing up blood or sputum (mucus), Fatigue or weakness, Loss of appetite, Weight loss, Chills, fever, Night sweats.

Stages of TB:
There are 3 stages of TB—exposure, latent, and active disease.

1. Exposure. This happens when a person has been in contact with, or exposed to, another person who has TB. The exposed person will have a negative skin test, a normal chest X-ray, and no signs or symptoms of the disease.
2. Latent TB infection. This happens when a person has TB bacteria in his or her body, but does not have symptoms of the disease. The infected person’s immune system walls off the TB organisms, and the TB remains inactive throughout life in most people who are infected. This person would have a positive skin test, but a normal chest X-ray.
3. TB disease. This describes the person who has signs and symptoms of an active infection. The person would have a positive skin test and a positive chest X-ray.

Can tuberculosis be cured?
Yes, TB can be cured, even in people with HIV infections. Drugs used to treat TB infection and disease include isoniazid (Hyzyd), rifampin (Rifadin), ethambutol (Myambutol), pyrazinamide (Zinamide), and a combination of isoniazid and rifapentine.
You must take all of the medication your doctor tells you to, or else not all of the bacteria will be killed. You will have to take these medications for as long as you are told—sometimes up to 9 months.