TB’s slow-motion Africa disaster
http://www.timescolonist.com
With the famine in Somalia a new threat to millions of lives, it might seem an unlikely time to call for increased spending on HIV/TB co-infection. But the disaster in the Horn of Africa has been years in the making, and due in no small part due to global neglect. Much could have been done, but wasn't, and now the world is responding after the fact, when lives have already been lost and aid much more difficult to provide.
As in Somalia, there is another longterm disaster stalking Africa that is the result of neglect. But unlike Somalia, it is absurdly simple to solve. It is estimated that less than five per cent of the millions of individuals being treated for HIV infection have been screened for TB, which is the primary killer for those living with HIV. This is despite the fact that screening is very simple. Eight questions are asked, and if the results are positive the patient is given a medical test. Treatment is less than $20 per year.
It is estimated that two million HIV survivors will die from preventable TB in the next three years.
We have a choice: We can bury the bodies after the fact, wasting millions of
dollars in the process, or we can be proactive and easily save lives. TB might be less dramatic than dust storms and packed refugee camps, but the results are the same.
Posted 9 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 18 hours, 3 minutes ago
