Today is World TB Day! March 24th, 2015! WHO, the World Health Organization, is focusing on public awareness about tuberculosis.
This special day is part of their strategy for advocacy, awareness, and funding.
They are leading the way in a global commitment to end tuberculosis.
At FLASS (Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists,) we join the mission to make people more aware of this killer disease. This is why we dedicate today’s blog to a fewTB truths that might suprise you:
Seven Shocking Facts About Tuberculosis
1. It is true that “Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health problem predominantly affecting low- and middle-income countries.” However, this is not the end of the story. You are not safe just because you have money and social status, because–
2. Even in a land of plenty, TB is a stubborn, air-born health threat. You will see it especially manifested among immigrants and the poorest of the poor in high income countries.
3. TB takes a terrible toll. Experts tell us it kills 1.5 million people every year, making it one of the top infectious diseases of humanity.
4. According to WHO, “There has been tremendous progress in recent years, and the world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reversing the spread of TB by 2015. But this is not enough. In 2013, 9 million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died.”
5. Ambitiously, WHO developed a strategy to destroy this disease. In May of last year, many governments and health organizations agreed to embark on “a new 20-year (2016-2035) strategy to end the global TB epidemic.”
6. WHO’s End TB Strategy has a vision: “a world free of TB with zero deaths, disease and suffering.” Their Strategy establishes “interventions required for these countries to 
progress first towards pre-elimination.
This stage means they present less than ten cases per million residents.
The second stage of the strategy is the elimination of TB as a public health problem. This means the government must present less than one case per million people.
Our detail-oriented readers and healthcare professionals can check out more information about the strategy at this reputable online resource.
The WHO Strategy To Stop TB lays out action plans for governments and participants to “provide patient-centered care, pursue policies and systems that enable prevention and care, and drive research and innovations needed to end the epidemic and eliminate TB.”
Some advocates are using strong persuasion and rhetoric to make the public aware of this epidemic. “At a time when partners are calling for zero TB deaths, we need to make a stronger statement that the world’s failure to stop deaths from TB is an outrage.”
7. Here is the most pitiful truth of this story: About 4000 people per day die because of TB globally, and it’s curable with very little cost.
In 1882, one out of every seven people actually were dying of TB when Dr. Robert Koch “astounded the scientific community by announcing that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus.”
Experts add, “At the time of Koch’s announcement in Berlin, TB was raging through Europe and the Americas, causing the death of one out of every seven people. Koch’s discovery opened the way towards diagnosing and curing TB.”
At FLASS, we think a world-wide commitment to the total annihilation of this disease would indeed be a fitting memorial to his discovery, and a huge benefit to all of humanity.