Invest To End Tuberculosis: Save Lives

Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from person to person through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes. Once rare in developed countries, tuberculosis infections began increasing in 1985, partly because of the emergence of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. HIV weakens a person's immune system. In the United States, because of stronger control programmes, tuberculosis began to decrease again in 1993, however, it remains a concern. Many tuberculosis strains resist the drugs most used to treat the disease. People with active tuberculosis must take many types of medications for months to get rid of the infection and prevent antibiotic resistance. World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is an opportunity to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, while voicing a warning about the threat of drug-resistant TB. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease. TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that over 4100 people lose their lives daily to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Jamaica is currently classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a low-burden Tuberculosis (TB) country (less than 10 cases per 100,000 population per year); with an estimated incidence of 2.9 per 100,000 population. Between 2014 and 2018, there were 544 cases of Tuberculosis confirmed and treated in Jamaica, an average of 109 cases per annum. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 66 million lives since the year 2000. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made in the fight to end TB. For the first time in over a decade, TB deaths increased in 2020. 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. This is especially significant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with the WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage. A person with latent TB will have no symptoms, and no damage will show on a chest X-ray. However, a blood test or skin prick test will indicate that they have TB infection. Active TB: An individual with TB disease may experience a cough that produces phlegm, fatigue, a fever, chills, and a loss of appetite and weight. Symptoms typically worsen over time, but they can also spontaneously go away and return. Treatment Treatment for latent TB can vary. It may involve someone taking an antibiotic once a week for 12 weeks or every day for 9 months. Treatment for active TB may involve taking several drugs for 6–9 months. When a person has a drug-resistant strain of TB, the treatment will be more complex. It is essential for people to complete the full course of treatment, even if symptoms go away. If a person stops taking their medication early, some bacteria can survive and become resistant to antibiotics. In this case, the person may go on to develop drug-resistant TB. COVID-19 AND TB The COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption to health services has seen an increase in tuberculosis deaths across all continents and regions. The African region has made progress against tuberculosis, reducing cases by 19% between 2015 and 2020 reflecting a decline of 4-10% per year in South Africa and several others in southern Africa countries. However, the region reported 549 000 deaths in 2020, an increase of around 2000 over 2019 and while cases fell modestly by 2.5% in 2020 from 1.4 million the previous year, there were significant drops in reporting of new infections in countries with high tuberculosis burden including Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe all of which have grappled with high COVID-19 cases. The WHO states the reallocation of resources and health workforce to tackle COVID-19 in many African countries as well as drastic pandemic response measures such as lockdowns greatly reduced access to key health services including tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment. The African region is home to 17 of the 30 countries globally that have the highest burden of tuberculosis and the trend seen in the region follows a rise in tuberculosis cases worldwide due to the COVID-19 impact. The case for investing to end TB is first and foremost financial. Yet, the investment of hard work, determination, emotion, and energy are as essential as the monetary assets needed to end this preventable and curable disease. This year’s World TB Day is about putting all of these investments into a common goal: saving lives. Let us utilize our various spaces in order to influence governments to invest more resources in order to save lives. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #InvestToEndTB #WorldTuberculosisDay