Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease, that affects the lung and other organs. It is associated with malnutrion and low sanitation and housing standards and it is surging dangerously in the developing world. According to the WHO, there will be 10 million new cases this year, the largest number in history.
Tuberculosis can be cured, but because it’s diagnosis and treatment pose certain challenges, which require knowledge, information, co-ordination and compliance, it has become a major public health conundrum.
Tuberculosis is a perfect example of a challenge we do possess all the knowledge and technology necessary to save million of people’s life and moreover, save billions in lost productivity each year. And yet people in developing countries die like flies, slowly and miserably, and with them, whole families impoverish even more. Tuberculosis is the perfect example of an societal imbalance, which we impose on ourselves, ultimately fueled by a society driven by ignorance and greed.
To become aware of the possibilities, but more importantly to reflect on how Tuberculosis in India may be related to us, is a first – and most important – step.
As on the inside, so on the outside. Countries stricken by poverty, corruption and administrative incompetence are a breeding ground for a wasting disease. AIDS, Tuberculosis strike with vengeance, like a symbolic purgatory for wasted resources and talent. So even if no-one of us may be able to directly alleviate this public health disaster, we still can contribute by doing everything we can, to understand that each person afflicted by this disease is as relevant as our next of kin.
And this is our first responsibility as human beings.
Read the article (New Yorker, Nov 15 2010)
Tuberculosis, 2010
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