Better Awareness Needed to Control TB Epidemic

"In 2005, more people died of tuberculosis (TB) - 1.7 million - than in any other year in history."

This article explores the strategy of controlling TB through active involvement of a well-informed civil society. This suggestion was a common theme within 5 reports released by the Open Society Institute's Public Health Watch initiative at the 37th World Congress on Lung Health, held in October/November 2006 in Paris, France.

The reports (accessible in full by clicking here) identify a lack of awareness about TB as a major contributing factor to the disease's recent resurgence. According to the reports, this ignorance stems from the failure of governments, media, and civil society organisations (CSOs) to communicate the issues to the public and to high-risk groups such as the HIV-positive, including the fact that TB can be cured. Such ignorance about TB transmission and treatment can, the reports say, lead to stigma and discrimination, which negatively impacts adherence to treatment and increases mortality and drug resistance.

The reports looked at national TB policy in Bangladesh, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Thailand, and were put together with substantial input from communities most affected by TB. They identified successful local approaches to improve TB treatment uptake.

The need for partnership is thought to be crucial in moving forward. The reports call for government officials, the World Health Organization (WHO), professionals and bureaucrats - as well as, crucially, civil society - to collaborate in efforts to increase awareness about the symptoms of TB, available treatment, and the high risk of co-infection with HIV/AIDS.