Thanks to global efforts to end TB, 74 million lives have been saved since 2000, but more than 10 million people still contracted the disease in 2021. It is therefore essential to continue the fight once morest TB. This year, the theme of World Tuberculosis Day is: “Yes! We can end TB! “.
World Tuberculosis Day: Mobilizing States
Every year, March 24 is dedicated to the world tuberculosis day. This date was not chosen at random, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, Koch’s bacillus, having been discovered on March 24, 1882. This day, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), responds to a double objective, on the one hand to sensitize the general public to this disease which remains of topicality everywhere in the world, on the other hand to encourage the States to continue the efforts to stop the world epidemic of tuberculosis.
Political mobilization is more essential than ever, at several levels:
- Accelerate the deployment of new therapeutic regimensof shorter duration and entirely administered orally;
- Take further action;
- Fight once morest inequalities in terms of access to testing and care;
- Facilitate collaborations between actors.
In September 2023, will also be held the United Nations High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis which will bring together all the Heads of State, another highlight in the fight once morest tuberculosis.
The fight once morest tuberculosis mishandled by the international context
The Covid-19 health crisis, conflicts and the global socio-economic crisis have in recent months slowed progress in the fight once morest tuberculosis. Around the world, additional investments are needed to:
- Deploy tuberculosis preventive treatmentssuch as vaccination;
- Facilitate access to treatment regimens in line with WHO recommendations;
- Develop innovations and digital tools;
- Promote researchin particular once morest resistant forms of tuberculosis.
Currently, the fight remains unequal in the world, with strong inequalities that persist between countries, but also within the countries themselves. People with tuberculosis are often found in disadvantaged and marginalized socio-economic categories, the most vulnerable to difficulties in accessing care.
Tuberculosis in decline in France, but still very present!
Many actors are involved nationally and internationally in the fight once morest tuberculosis. This fight does not only concern the health sector, but also that of the medico-social sector. All actors must act together to unite their efforts and thus reduce tuberculosis in the world, including in France. In 2020, more than 4,600 new cases of tuberculosis have been identified (including 38% in the Ile-de-France region alone), a figure that has been falling for several decades (with -1.7% per year over the past 30 years).
In France too, the people most vulnerable to tuberculosis are the most disadvantaged: people with no fixed abode, people who have migrated to France and prisoners. Rapid identification of new casesin particular thanks to targeted screeningand the appropriate treatment for latent tuberculosis infections are the main means of combating tuberculosis. The change in vaccination recommendations, with BCG vaccination which is no longer compulsory for young children, does not seem to have modified the decline in tuberculosis in France. But vigilance and the fight must be maintained, because tuberculosis remains present in France despite everything.
Published on March 24, 2022 by Alexia F., Doctor in Neurosciences. Updated by Estelle B., Doctor of Pharmacy, March 22, 2023.
Sources
– Tuberculosis in France: 2020 figures. santepubliquefrance.fr. Accessed March 13, 2023.
