Tuberculosis: A New Pandemic
Chelsea Thompson - November 14th, 2008 – 4:48PM
Usually when people think of tuberculosis they automatically recall movies that take place in the “olden days”. They usually think of people coughing blood into hankies and then dying shortly after. People do not usually think of tuberculosis as something that could pose as a threat nowadays. The scary truth is that tuberculosis is still around and is mutating into various strains that have no cure. These new strains of the disease are extremely drug resistant and usually fatal. James Nachtwey, a photojournalist, has photographed many instances of the fatality and desolation the disease has caused around the world. He describes it as “a merciless, man-eating predator lurking in the shadows.” He is afraid that if the disease if not contained, the consequences could be devastating. The sad and scary thing about this possible pandemic is that there have been no scientific advancements made to fight off tuberculosis in the past forty years. The disease is highly contagious and airborne. Travelers can carry the disease, causing likelihood for anyone to pick it up. It is possible that the disease can spread quickly in overpopulated places such as prisons and small villages. There is currently no treatment for the drug resistant strains of TB (named XDR). People who are most likely to fall victim to the disease are those with weak immune systems.
This article is very scary to me because I always thought of tuberculosis as an ailment from the past. I thought that is was virtually extinct and could no longer pose as a threat to society. After researching the disease I learned that there are actually treatable strains of the disease that are still in existence today.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/11/14/xdrtb/
2 comments:
What parts of the world are dealing with this? Is there a reason research hasn't been going into treating these strains of tuberculosis?
I feel very ignorant because I know next to nothing about this disease nor the danger it presents.
This type of drug resistant TB is worldwide and in all probability due to the fact immigrants have no health check here when entering our country and people are travelling further in to the countrysides of countries that have a TB and other medical problems. Some people are carriers and have no symptoms. Even here in NA there are people with TB. It is passed through tiny droplets of water in the air when we speak or cough or sneeze. We breathe in these droplets and the bacteria goes directly to our lungs. You can check the CDC website for more information on TB and XDR-TB.
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