World Tuberculosis Day tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: World Tuberculosis Day will be observed on March 24th across the world including Pakistan to raise public awareness of tuberculosis and the efforts made to prevent and treat this disease.

Various World Tuberculosis Day events and activities are organized by various organizations involved in the Stop TB Partnership.

World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations' (UN) health authority that works with this network to promote World Tuberculosis Day each year.

The theme of World Tuberculosis Day 2012 is "Stop TB in my lifetime". The theme encourage people all over the world, from the youngest to the oldest, to make an individual call for the elimination of TB, and say what changes they expect to take place in their lifetimes.

People, community groups and government agencies may also take the time to work with broadcast, print and online media to promote stories on the awareness of tuberculosis and the works of those who help fight against the spread of the disease.

Tuberculosis, or TB, is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the disease.

WHO estimates that the largest number of new TB cases in 2005 occurred in South-East Asia, which accounted for 34 percent of incident cases globally.

However, the estimated incidence rate in sub-Saharan Africa is nearly twice that of South-East Asia.

World Tuberculosis Day, annually held on March 24, marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch detected the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. This was a first step towards diagnosing and curing tuberculosis.

World Tuberculosis Day can be traced back to 1982, when the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease launched World TB Day on March 24 that year, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Dr Koch's discovery.

In 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) joined the union and other organizations to promote World TB Day. The Stop TB Partnership, called the Stop TB Initiative at the time of its inception, was established in 1998.

It is a network of organizations and countries fighting tuberculosis. WHO works with this partnership on to support the activities and events that take place on World Tuberculosis Day each year. (APP)