WORLD
TUBERCULOSIS DAY – SCI & TECH
News:
World Tuberculosis (TB)
Day 2024: Date, history, theme and significance
What's
in the news?
●
World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is celebrated
on March 24 annually to spread awareness around the deadly disease.
World
Tuberculosis (TB) Day:
●
It is celebrated to raise awareness around the disease, increase efforts to eradicate
the disease and mobilise support for those affected by TB.
Backdrop:
●
March
24, 1882 is considered a significant date in the battle
against tuberculosis as it is on this day that Dr Robert Koch discovered the bacteria that causes TB.
●
This groundbreaking announcement led to
better understanding, diagnosis and eventual treatment of the disease.
●
It was not before the year 1982, on the
centenary of Dr Koch's discovery that the International
Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) proposed observing
March 24 as World TB Day to raise awareness about TB and its global impact.
●
The first World TB Day was officially
observed in 1983 and since then, it
has become an annual event.
Theme
of World Tuberculosis Day 2024: “Yes! We can end TB”.
Significance
of the Day:
●
World Tuberculosis Day aims to unite
governments, health organizations and communities worldwide in their commitment
to end the TB epidemic by ensuring access to quality care for all those
affected.
Go
back to basics:
Tuberculosis:
●
It is a bacterial infection spread through
inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. Mycobacterium
tuberculosis bacteria is responsible for TB.
●
It mainly affects the lungs, but it can
affect any part of the body, including the tummy (abdomen), glands, bones and
nervous system.
●
TB is a potentially serious condition, but
it can be cured if it's treated with the right antibiotics.