March 24, 2020 was World Tuberculosis Day, but it was probably overlooked due to the coronavirus impact on the world today. While Covid-19 has been circulating in the news the past few months, it is important for people to keep in mind that tuberculosis is still one of the leading causes of death around the globe. According to the World Health Organization, “a total of 1.5 million people died from TB . . . Worldwide, TB is one of the top 10 causes of death and the leading cause from a single infectious agent.” While TB is very widely known and there is lots of research out about it, scientists and doctors still continue to study it to find more information about it. There is always room for more knowledge in life . . . especially when it comes to diseases.
A recent study at Stanford Medical School shared on Medical Xpress, an online magazine, indicated that young children exposed to TB have a very high risk at developing the disease. The findings for the study originated from the largest study to assess TB risk among children exposed to the disease since this disease kills about 205,000 children per year. They found specifically that children younger than the age of five were more prone to developing the TB when exposed. According to the article, elements contributing to the disease in the 1940s are very different than what contributes to it today. HIV, which is one of the biggest factors today, was not known back in the day. Malnutrition was also much more common in the 1940s than today. Fortunately, with advances in technology, there are more tools to diagnose the disease and there are better ways of collecting data on it.
With this advancement in the knowledge on TB, researchers were able to take preventative measures with the children that tested positive for the disease. According to the article, “preventative medications given to healthy children were quite effective if given before children became ill with TB, reducing the development . . . by 91%.” WOW!! The researchers on this study hope their findings will help other experts working with the disease and help them focus better on preventative measures. Personally, I did not know much about TB before taking microbiology, but I am happy to have more information about it as it has opened my eyes to things going on around the world. If people take the precaution and follow guidelines for preventative measures, hopefully the number of deaths worldwide will steadily decline.
V's Microbionic 