Tuberculosis (TB) has not only scarred lungs, it has scarred memories, families, communities, countries and, ultimately, it has scarred the world. If you are sitting in front of a computer anywhere in the Western World, and were born after World War II it is highly probable that you are scarred too..this time as a result of a vaccine. It is highly improbable that you have personally met anyone who has had TB. You are lucky compared to vast areas of the world where TB is still a destructive force in the lives of many. Over 1.7 million people die and more than 9 million people develop the disease every year.
While vaccines have saved the lives of millions of people for those who have not been vaccinated, or where the disease takes hold despite the vaccine, Tuberculosis can be treated. However drug-resistant TB threatens the lives of many. For immersion in the world of Tuberculosis and the work of a medical hero read Mountains Beyond Mountains about Dr Paul Farmer . The stories will likely chill you and educate you regarding the prevalance of TB in prisons (especially in Russia) and in countries such as Haiti. Paul's story is one of immersion in the daily challenges of the poor and the threat of drug-resistant TB to the world.
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) declared TB a global health emergency in 1993, and the Stop TB Partnership developed a Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis that aims to save 14 million lives between 2006 and 2015. Since humans are the only host of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, eradication would be possible: a goal that would be helped greatly by an effective vaccine. Research to find that cure continues and experts keep The Growing Threat of Drug Resistant TB in the faces of concerned parties and philanthropic organizations are contributing to the eradication of this horrific disease. In particular, the Gates Foundation has focused their resources on pursuing a cure.
March 24th 2009 is World TB Day . It is a day to acknowledge the Global Fight against TB. It is a day to remember that people are dying everyday, that the battle is not over and that only research will conquer the problem. We believe it can be defeated and we are proud to contribute our own efforts to the TB community for the ongoing battle.
For more information regarding Tuberculosis we recommend visiting the following websites.
- NIAID - The national Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- MTBreg - The Database of Conditionally Regulated Protein Proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- JCVI - Mycobacterium tuberculosis CDC1551 Genome Page
- Broad - The Broad Institute Mycobacterium tuberculosis Database
- TB database The TB Database
- WHO global TB database The World Health Organization TB Database
- TB drug targets database The TB Drug Targets Database
- TDR targets database TDR Targets database
- TropIKA.net Tropical Diseases Research to Foster Innovation & Knowledge Application TuberuList
- SITVIT database The SITVIT database
- Tuberculist - The TubercuList Worldwide Web Server
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