Time for zero deaths from tuberculosis
2011; Elsevier BV; Volume: 378; Issue: 9801 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0140-6736(11)61521-3
ISSN1474-547X
AutoresSalmaan Keshavjee, Mark Harrington, Gregg Gonsalves, Lucy Chesire, Paul E. Farmer,
Tópico(s)Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research
ResumoWhen Robert Koch presented his discovery of the tuberculosis bacillus in March, 1882, he hoped it would lead to the eradication of “this terrible plague of mankind”. 1 Koch R Die aetiologie der tuberculose, a translation by Berna Pinner and Max Pinner with an introduction by Allen K Krause. Am Rev Tuberc. 1932; 25: 285-323 Google Scholar More than a century later, tuberculosis remains a leading killer of adults: of about 9·4 million people newly infected with tuberculosis each year, 3·5 million are undiagnosed and continue to transmit the disease and more than 1·7 million die. Tuberculosis is the main killer of people with HIV infection; drug-resistant strains continue to spread; and paediatric tuberculosis remains an area of neglect. 2 Lönnroth K Castro KG Chakayah JM et al. Tuberculosis control and elimination 2010–50: cure, care, and social development. Lancet. 2010; 375: 1814-1829 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (633) Google Scholar , 3 Keshavjee S Farmer PE Picking up the pace—scale-up of MDR tuberculosis treatment programs. N Engl J Med. 2010; 369: 1781-1784 Crossref Scopus (52) Google Scholar In the past decade, the number of new cases of tuberculosis worldwide has barely declined, and the number of deaths remains catastrophic: more than 4500 per day for this largely treatable disease. As a Lancet editorial pointed out, “A status quo in tuberculosis control is unacceptable.” 4 The LancetA new era for global tuberculosis control?. Lancet. 2011; 378: 2 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (4) Google Scholar Global funding for infectious diseases: TB or not TB?WHO's sixteenth annual report on global tuberculosis control, released on Oct 11, presents detailed and encouraging statistics, carefully interwoven with words of caution about the perils of failing to maintain disease-specific funding. Taking a global view, the numbers are undoubtedly sobering, with 8·8 million new cases of tuberculosis estimated in 2010, and about 1·45 million deaths from tuberculosis across populations with and without HIV. In 2009, 9·7 million children are thought to have been orphaned by parental deaths caused by tuberculosis (whether or not accompanied by HIV). Full-Text PDF Kenneth Castro: a public health heroGlobal tuberculosis efforts owe much to the leadership of Rear Admiral Kenneth Castro. As Director of the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he leads a team of technical experts dedicated to tuberculosis elimination, prevention, and control activities in the USA and internationally. But, he says, he never planned a career in medicine and initially wanted to be a marine biologist. “However, I quickly realised that Darwin and Jacques Cousteau who made the subject so glamorous were both independently wealthy and that option was not open to me”, he jokes. Full-Text PDF
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