It is estimated that one-third of the world’s population is infected with latent TB. Up to 1 in 10 of people with a latent TB infection (but who do not have HIV) will develop active TB at some point.
Parts of the world that have high rates of TB include:
- Africa – particularly sub-Saharan Africa (all the African countries that are south of the Sahara desert) and West Africa, including Nigeria and South Africa
- Southeast Asia – including India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh
- Russia
- China
- South America
FOR MORE INFO: http://www.stoptb.org/countries/tbdata.asp
In spite of the availability of chemotherapy for TB, there are 14 million Tuberculosis cases in India and a staggering 5,00,000 deaths every year due to this disease. Most TB cases occur in the 15-59 year age group (economically the most productive years).
World TB Day Every year March 24th is observed as the ‘World TB Day’ because TB was discovered by Robert Koch on March 24th 1880. Despite the availability of good chemotherapy and effective treatment regimens TB kills more adults each year than any other infectious disease – more than malaria, diarrhea, AIDS and other tropical diseases put together. Awareness about the symptoms of the disease and removal of the stigma about the disease are crucial factors in TB control.
| Myths about TB | Facts about TB |
| TB is a hereditary disease | TB is a disease that spreads through air |
| TB occurs only in lower socioeconomic group | Anyone can get TB irrespective of socioeconomic status |
| Smoking causes TB | Smoking aggravates TB |
| TB patients should be hospitalized | TB patients can be treated at home and he can continue to work |
| Tuberculosis causes lung cancer | Lung diseases that cause scarring of the lung tissues, such as tuberculosis, can increase the risk of developing lung cancer. There are many causes of lung cancer, with smoking being the number one cause |
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