World Tuberculosis Day is celebrated by the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO) every year on March 24 – the day when, in 1882, the German microbiologist Robert Koch announced his discovery of the causative agent of tuberculosis. In 1905, the scientist received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which aims to raise awareness of the devastating health and social impacts of TB and to inform about the economic impact of TB, and thereby intensify efforts to combat the global epidemic of the disease.
This Day was established in 1982 by the decision of WHO and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) and is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the causative agent of tuberculosis – Koch’s bacillus. In 1993, the World Health Organization declared tuberculosis a national disaster, and March 24 was declared World Tuberculosis Day. Since 1998, he has received official support from the UN.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease transmitted by airborne droplets. And without proper treatment, a person with active TB can infect an average of 10-15 people every year. Almost 4,500 people die from this preventable and curable disease every day, and almost 30,000 people fall ill with it (most of them in developing countries), according to the WHO.
Humans are the main source of TB infection, but cattle are also affected by TB. Mycobacterium tuberculosis can enter the body in various ways: air – by inhalation of contaminated dust or sputum droplets; through the gastrointestinal tract when eating contaminated foods, less often through damaged skin of the mucous membranes, when kissing a sick person. The incidence of tuberculosis begins with infection or infection. During this period, for the first time, mycobacterium tuberculosis enters the body of a healthy, previously uninfected person. Most often this occurs in childhood or adolescence, especially if they are in contact with a TB patient or in a dirty and dusty room. In these cases, the infected person for the first time has a positive reaction to the introduction of tuberculin. This period may pass unnoticed, not be accompanied by any complaints or manifest itself as minor signs in the form of a deterioration in well-being and increased emotional excitability, and a decrease in academic performance. In some cases, these symptoms are accompanied by a slight increase in body temperature up to 37.0 – 37.5 °C. Rarely, primary infections with tuberculosis can be accompanied by more acute manifestations, reminiscent of colds.
Tuberculosis can often hide under the guise of influenza, bronchitis, acute respiratory infections or pneumonia. With timely detection of tuberculosis, it is completely curable. In advanced cases, lesions develop in the lungs with the formation of a decay cavity and the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Such a patient becomes dangerous to others. There is a danger of infection not only for uninfected children and adolescents, but also for those who have previously had tuberculosis. Repeated contact with the bacterioexcretor of mycobacterium tuberculosis can provoke a severe exacerbation of the disease.
Thanks to the anti-tuberculosis work carried out in Turkmenistan in recent years, it has been possible to reduce the increase in the incidence and mortality of the population from tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is curable and work is ongoing, but according to the WHO, not enough effort is currently being made to find, treat and cure every patient. Of the 9 million people who fall ill with TB each year, 3 million are untreated.
Therefore, the purpose of the World TB Day is, first of all, to raise awareness of the world’s population about the global epidemic of this disease and efforts to eliminate it, about methods of prevention and control of it.
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Vepa Kanayev,
II Year Student of the Faculty of
International Law of the Institute of
International Relations of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
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