MONTGOMERY-Did you know that TB, an airborne infectious disease, remains one of the leading causes of death in the world? Each day, over 4,100 people lose their lives to TB and nearly 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 66 million lives since the year 2000. Significant progress has occurred, but with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, TB deaths increased in 2020 for the first time in more than a decade.
World TB Day is recognized each year on March 24. This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes TB. World TB Day is a day to educate the public about the impact of TB around the world. The theme of World TB Day 2022 is “Invest to End TB. Save Lives.” This 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 critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put progress at risk and is needed to ensure equitable access to prevention and care. More investment will save millions more lives and accelerate the end of the TB epidemic.
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) Division of TB Control seeks to prevent future cases through prompt identification and medical evaluation of contacts at risk for exposure. TB services provided include diagnostic, treatment, case management and contact investigation to all persons in Alabama regardless of the ability to pay. ADPH also works to assure the initiation and completion of preventive therapy for those contacts diagnosed with latent TB infection. Without treatment, 1 in 10 people with latent TB infection will develop TB disease.
Dr. Karen Landers, Medical Director for TB Control, ADPH, said, “Our work is not complete until every case of active TB is found, treated and cured.”
For more information about TB, visit alabamapublichealth.gov/tb/or call (334) 206-5330.
Media Release/Karen Landers, M.D./ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
