World Tuberculosis Day 2022: The day, observed on March 24 every year. Focuses on spreading awareness of the severity of the disease and the actions that should be taken in order to curb the spread of it. Tuberculosis, also referred to as TB, is a lung infection causes by a bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium is transmitted through infected droplets in the air which is then inhaled by a person, which causes the infection.

According to WHO, TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers. Each day, over 4100 people lose their lives to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 66 million lives since the year 2000. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made in the fight to end TB. For the first time in over a decade, TB deaths increased in 2020.

Tuberculosis symptoms differ from person to person. Majority of the people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis do not show any symptoms of the infection. However, the most common symptoms are constant coughing for more than two to three weeks, coughing up blood, feeling weak, losing weight and night sweats. But what are the main causes and the ways of prevention of TB? The tuberculosis infection-causing bacterium spreads through air, by the act of sneezing, coughing or speaking. Once diagnosed with TB, the following steps can be taken to cure it completely:

• Vaccination with BCG.
• Improving the air circulation in indoor spaces.
• Treating latent infection before it becomes active in selected cases.
• Maintaining good nutrition.
• Wearing mask when out and about.
• Visit a physician if one has symptoms such as unexplained cough for more than 3 weeks, chest pain, fatigue, coughing up blood, sweating at night, fever, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

The theme of World TB Day 2022 - ‘Invest to End TB. Save Lives.’ –conveys the urgent need to invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. This is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.

More investment will save millions more lives, accelerating the end of the TB epidemic.

Looking forward to Bioperfectus Tuberculosis Diagnostic Product Launch. 

Reference: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-tb-day/2022