Looking at the calendar, you can understand that every day some kind of holiday is celebrated. Or is it a certain date, designed to draw public attention to a particular problem. Right now I want to talk about when World TB Day is and why this day is very important for every person.
A little bit of history
The World He alth Organization has long drawn attention to this problem. After all, tuberculosis is a disease that can affect anyone. That is why WHO, together with an international organization, or rather, the Union for the Fight against Pulmonary Diseases, on March 24, 1982, began to celebrate World Tuberculosis Day. Why this particular date? it's a perfectly logical question. Everything is simple here. It was on this date, however, a century earlier, in 1882, Koch's wand was discovered - the only causative agent of tuberculosis.
In 1993, the world community recognized this problem as a general scourge. And in 1998, World TB Day received such important and much-anticipated support from the United Nations.
A few words about tuberculosis
I would like to tell a little about the disease itself. After all, it is necessary to understand what is at stake when it comes to tuberculosis. This is an infectious disease. The great danger is that this disease is transmitted by airborne droplets. You can share infectious microbacteria when coughing, sneezing, and even during a conversation, when particles of the patient's saliva fall on the interlocutor. In addition, not everyone knows that they are infected. And without appropriate treatment, a carrier of tuberculosis infects an average of 15 people a year with this disease. At the same time, poor-quality nutrition, bad habits (alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction), various stressful and depressive conditions, as well as chronic diseases (for example, AIDS or diabetes) help the disease develop.
Why does the public need this?
World TB Day is March 24, everyone should remember this. After all, this problem can affect a person anywhere and at any, even the most inopportune time. And this is regardless of social status or material well-being. At least once a year, it is on this day that the public should be reminded of this disease, the ways of its transmission, and what must be done to protect yourself and all members of your family from infection. For this, a variety of events can be held: seminars, lectures, round tables, trainings. It is also worth mentioning that it is necessary to inform children about this problem. It is necessary to organize all kinds ofmeetings with doctors in schools and other educational institutions. Stands, newspapers, wall newspapers, brochures also work well and convey the necessary information about this problem to kids.
What to do?
What can we talk about on TB Day? So, it is necessary to inform people not only about how you can get infected, but also what to do if the infection has already occurred.
- Vaccination. People should understand that you can save yourself if you get vaccinated in a timely manner. So, back in 1919, the microbiologist Calmette, as well as his close friend, the veterinarian Guerin, created a strain of microbacteria that is suitable for anti-tuberculosis vaccination of people. The first baby was vaccinated with BCG in 1921.
- Adequate treatment. A person should be aware that it is important not only to learn about the disease, but also to receive adequate treatment. So, it is worth mentioning that in 1943, biochemists discovered Streptomycin, a drug (antibiotic) that killed tuberculosis bacteria.
Strategy to get rid of the problem
World TB Day should also tell the public that in 1993 the disease was recognized as a national problem. A little later, in order to avoid the widespread spread of this disease, a special strategy was developed, which is called DOTS. Its goal is to timely identify the problem and prescribe treatment. The essence of getting rid of the disease isthat the person will be prescribed short courses of chemotherapy. At the same time, constant monitoring by specialists is very important.
Some numbers and statistics
Having de alt with when the day of the fight against tuberculosis (March 24), it is also worth providing certain numbers that should alert every person.
- In 2013, the number of TB patients was 9 million. In the same year, one and a half million died (a fifth of them were HIV/AIDS patients).
- This disease is widespread in all countries of the world. However, most of them - 56% of patients - were found in Asia and Oceania. A lot of patients also live in India, China and Africa.
- According to statistics, 60% of patients are men.
- Over the past 25 years, the incidence of this disease has decreased by 41%.
How to get public attention
How to celebrate International TB Day? So, for this you can use all sorts of methods to inform the public. What could it be?
- Information events. In this case, doctors and scientists should communicate with people, who are obliged to talk about the problem itself, the ways it occurs, as well as methods of dealing with it. Best of all, in this case, conversations and lectures work. It is advisable to organize meetings so that attendees of the event can ask questions.
- Placement of thematicmaterials. The public needs to be informed through the press, the Internet, radio and television. Brochures, wall newspapers and posters that inform people about the disease are also actively conveying information to people.
- Access day, open doors. This applies to medical institutions. So, on the day of the fight against tuberculosis, it is possible to organize mobile fluorographs, where people will take pictures quickly and free of charge. Most often they are placed in the city center, where everyone can be tested for the presence of the disease. Immediately there should be specialists who can inform both he althy and sick patients.
- Training. Various trainings and seminars can be held, where people will be taught how to avoid infection and what to do if the first symptoms appear.
- Conferences, seminars. You can gather workers from various fields who at a "high level" will discuss the problem itself and ways to get rid of it.
- Press conferences. The public must be informed about how widespread the disease is at a given time, the percentage of cases is increasing or decreasing, and whether new methods of dealing with the problem are emerging. It is better if this information is reported by scientists, not by politicians.
And, of course, in any city there should be an organization to fight tuberculosis. After all, every person should remember and know where he can turn for help if he is diagnosed with tuberculosis.
