For too long, tuberculosis (TB) has not received sufficient attention. The result of this neglect is needless suffering; in 2010 alone, nearly 9 million people fell ill with TB and 1.4 million died, with 95 percent of these deaths occurring in developing countries. These numbers make tuberculosis the second top infectious killer of adults worldwide, despite it being a curable disease.
According to a World Health Organization report on Saudi Arabia, more than 3,000 people were affected with TB in 2008 and 4,500 in 2009. Ninety five percent of the people affected don’t know they are carrying the disease. As such, it is important to create awareness of the disease among people.
The Ministry of Health along with the help of the World Health Organization spares no effort to fight TB. Many nonprofit organizations as well as Saudi youth are working with them.
“I believe health is the most valuable thing for humans to have and must be preserved,” said Dr. Syed Anwar Khursheed, an ICU physician at King Faisal Hospital in Taif.
He explained, “Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that usually attack the lungs, but the TB bacteria can attack any part of the body, such as the kidneys, spine and brain. If not treated properly, the disease can be fatal.”
TB is an airborne disease, the doctor said, meaning that when a person with TB of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings, people nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. “However,” he stressed, “TB never spreads by shaking hands, sharing food or drink, touching bed linens or toilet seats, sharing toothbrushes, and kissing.”
He further said that many people don’t know about the disease and its symptoms, and they do not visit a doctor. TB is more common among children and the elderly, because their immune system is weaker. According to WHO reports, one third of the world population today carries TB bacteria, especially in underdeveloped countries and even in Saudi Arabia, due to the changing environment and various health hazards.
“A person with a TB infection but without the active disease will experience no symptoms. Tuberculosis is a preventable disease, but as it spreads quickly and very easily, people should know about the symptoms and the possible cures of the disease,” said Dr. Khursheed. “After the HIV crisis it became more prominent, although the WHO is trying to introduce new cures.” He added that the medicines that are available in pharmacies, TB centers and hospitals are very effective.
Among HIV positive patients, the incidence of the TB bacteria increases, and HIV combined with TB increases the chance of fatalities.
A person with pulmonary TB may have all or none of the following symptoms: persistent cough, weight loss, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, and the occasional appearance of blood when coughing. A person with extra-pulmonary TB may experience the general symptoms of TB as well as other symptoms depending on the organs affected. For instance, swelling may appear in different areas of the body, with occasional “pus drainage” when lymph nodes are affected. Patients may also experience pain and swelling in joints, headache, fever, stiffness in the neck, and, in the case of tuberculosis meningitis, even drowsiness.
“Not every person infected with the bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection and TB disease. In the case of a latent TB infection, TB bacteria live in the body without making the person sick, and no symptoms appear. People with this condition are not infectious. When the TB bacteria become active, it is called TB disease. People with this condition are sick and may spread the bacteria to other people,” explained Dr. Khursheed.
The chance of developing TB is higher among HIV-positive people, people who have been infected with TB before, who have any other health problems, or people who were not treated correctly for TB in past.
“Patients with TB should take their medicines on time, and regular checkups with a doctor are very important,” Dr. Khursheed emphasized. “People should avoid drinking expired milk and living in closed homes with the AC on. Fresh air and sunlight is very important to kill bacteria and germs for a healthy life,” he explained.
In Saudi Arabia the disease is in control, but there are chances of it increasing. In the past, the disease was only found in poor areas, but now it has become more prominent and is spreading everywhere, so we have to become more concerned, the doctor added.
The WHO information fact sheet of TB states:
1.TB is contagious and spreads through the air. If not treated, each person with active TB can infect on average 10 to 15 people a year.
2. More than two billion people, equal to one third of the total world population, are infected with bacteria that cause TB. Out of these, one in every 10 will become sick with active TB in his or her lifetime. People with HIV are at higher risk.
3. A total of 1.7 million people died from TB in 2009 (including 380,000 people with HIV), which equals 4,700 deaths a day. TB is a disease of poverty, affecting mainly young adults in their most productive years. The vast majority of TB deaths are in the developing world, with more than half occurring in Asia.
4. TB is the leading killer among people living with HIV, who have weakened immune systems.
5. There were 9.4 million new TB cases in 2009, of which 80 percent were in only 22 countries. The global TB incidence rate per capita is falling, but the pace of decline is very slow, at less than 1 percent.
6. TB is a worldwide pandemic. Among the 15 countries with the highest estimated TB incidence rates, 13 are in Africa, while a third of all new cases are in India and China.
7. Multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a form of tuberculosis that does not respond to the standard treatments using first-line drugs. MDR-TB is present in virtually all countries surveyed by the WHO and its partners.
8. The world is on track to achieve two TB targets set for 2015, the Millennium Development Goal, which aims to halt and reverse global incidence (in comparison with 1990) and the Stop TB Partnership target to a world without tuberculosis.
9. Forty one million TB patients have been successfully treated with the “DOTS approach,” a broad TB control strategy outlined by the WHO, and up to 6 million lives have been saved since 1995. Five million more lives could be saved between now and 2015 by fully funding and implementing the Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015.
