Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is one of the main non-governmental providers of TB care worldwide, especially for people with drug-resistant TB, and helps lead global efforts to make newer, more effective treatments affordable and available to those who need them.
5 Facts you need to know about Tuberculosis (TB) one of the world’s biggest global health crises and the world’s leading infectious disease killer.
FACT 1:
TB is caused by bacteria that spreads by air when infected people cough or sneeze, it most often affects the lungs but can infect other parts of the body, including the bones and nervous system. Since TB is airborne it can be easily transmitted in crowded settings, from cramped households and workplaces to health care facilities.
FACT 2:
The earliest symptoms of active TB are fever, night sweats and weight loss. Later there is cough, and blood may appear in the phlegm.
FACT 3:
It is estimated that up to one third of the world's population may be infected with the tubercule bacillus. Most of these people, however, do not have active TB. Their infection is latent, and may remain so for their whole life, not causing any symptoms.
FACT 4:
The global tuberculosis (TB) crisis is fueled by several factors, including the alarming rise in drug resistance, reliance on obsolete, harsh drugs that often don’t work, lack of diagnostic tests that are practical for use in low-resource settings, and lackluster political commitment.
FACT 5:
Uncomplicated, drug-sensitive TB is curable, but treatment takes at least six months and relies on a cocktail of the same harsh antibiotics that have been used for decades.