Drug Resistant Tuberculosis and How We Can Fight It
Disease in the News Paper
Drug Resistant Tuberculosis
HCS/245
Introduction
Tuberculosis is one of the oldest diseases that is still around today, and never really went away. World wide there is now concern for new strains of the virus attacking with a vengeance. Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) held a conference and one of the main topics of discussion is the recent strain of drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB) in Europe. They’ve coined a new term for this new concerning strain of TB- they call it “MDR-TB,” which stands for ‘multi-drug resistant TB.” The cases of drug-resistant TB are usually seen as a result of the first line of treatment (first-line drugs) being used improperly for treatment or mismanaged in the first treatment course.
One in three people in the world is infected with dormant Tuberculosis bacteria, but it is only when the bacteria become active that they fall ill with the disease, (Paddock, pp.2). TB is much like HIV, as it is an auto-immune disease- once the bacteria becomes active/the person becomes infected it can drastically decrease a person’s immunity.
The main concern at the conference is that if a proper and effective treatment isn’t found for the drug resistant cases of TB and the MDR-TB cases, that it could increase to pandemic proportions. Without successful treatment and maintenance of TB at it’s manageable strain, it can potentially put over 200,000 lives at risk of being lost, and billions of dollars spent purely because of poor treatment management. Claims
The article regarding the World Health Organizations meeting about the possible issues with drug-resistant TB claims that the most important aspect is not only attempting to treat/cure the disease, but it was vital to start working on prevention as soon as possible.
The World Health Organization upon meeting at the conference has devised a new treatment plan, and hopes to save 120,000 lives and at least five billion dollars with the
Drug Resistant Tuberculosis
HCS/245
Introduction
Tuberculosis is one of the oldest diseases that is still around today, and never really went away. World wide there is now concern for new strains of the virus attacking with a vengeance. Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) held a conference and one of the main topics of discussion is the recent strain of drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB) in Europe. They’ve coined a new term for this new concerning strain of TB- they call it “MDR-TB,” which stands for ‘multi-drug resistant TB.” The cases of drug-resistant TB are usually seen as a result of the first line of treatment (first-line drugs) being used improperly for treatment or mismanaged in the first treatment course.
One in three people in the world is infected with dormant Tuberculosis bacteria, but it is only when the bacteria become active that they fall ill with the disease, (Paddock, pp.2). TB is much like HIV, as it is an auto-immune disease- once the bacteria becomes active/the person becomes infected it can drastically decrease a person’s immunity.
The main concern at the conference is that if a proper and effective treatment isn’t found for the drug resistant cases of TB and the MDR-TB cases, that it could increase to pandemic proportions. Without successful treatment and maintenance of TB at it’s manageable strain, it can potentially put over 200,000 lives at risk of being lost, and billions of dollars spent purely because of poor treatment management. Claims
The article regarding the World Health Organizations meeting about the possible issues with drug-resistant TB claims that the most important aspect is not only attempting to treat/cure the disease, but it was vital to start working on prevention as soon as possible.
The World Health Organization upon meeting at the conference has devised a new treatment plan, and hopes to save 120,000 lives and at least five billion dollars with the