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Putting a human face on TB

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI JULY 15. Putting a human face on the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic and the deadly interaction between TB and HIV/AIDS, the new World Health Organisation (WHO) report released here today is a collection of a series of pictures of people affected by the ailment collected from across the globe.

Designed by Colors Magazine of Benetton -- traditionally known for their shocking yet eye-catching photographs -- the series is described as a bold step by WHO to portray the ailment. The report, meanwhile, also acknowledges that ten years after declaring an unprecedented global TB emergency, the epidemic has worsened primarily due to the spread of HIV.

Also highlighted is the fact that despite eight million new cases being reported annually -- and two million deaths a year -- there are still many misconceptions about tuberculosis and its impact on people living with HIV/AIDS. Approximately 90 per cent of the people living with HIV die within few months of becoming sick with TB if they do not receive proper treatment.

``In 1993, WHO declared a global emergency against TB and pledged to eradicate the ailment. Ten years later, the feedback we are getting is not very encouraging. Also reducing the number of TB cases by half is part of the millennium development target set for 2010.

This report then is a midway evaluation where we try and find out how much of the ailment we have managed to conquer and how much needs to be done,'' explained representative of the Massive Effort Campaign engaged in social mobilisation for ailments including malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS.

The report evaluating the status of the disease in India claims that the country continues to have the largest number of TB cases in the world (more than 4.5 million people) each year 1.8 million cases are added to this number.

It also notes that India -- with a large volume of new cases and with a constantly moving population between cities and countryside -- the problem represents the most challenging environment in the world for DOTS expansion.

India is said to have the most rapidly expanding DOTS programme in the world and currently the per centage of population having access to DOTS has risen from 9 per cent in 1998 to 55 per cent in 2002, which according to the report is counted among the positive actions.

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