Disease in the News
The topic of my choice for the article is the recently discovered drug-resistant strains of the infectious disease tuberculosis and its rapid spread. The article explains that the cost in lives and money will be out of control if we do not control this disease worldwide. The article details how much it will cost to provide care and how much money will be needed to keep fighting the fight to stop the spread of this deadly disease. The Worldwide Asset and World Wellbeing Association indicate the objectives that poor person met, new objectives, and subsidizing necessity data.
Drug-safe tuberculosis has been viewed overall and is quickly spreading. ” Margaret Chan, WHO Director General, stated in a statement, “We are treading water at a time when we desperately need to scale up our response to [multi-drug resistant] TB.” Even though there has been a decline in the number of cases of tuberculosis over the past few years, the bacterium that causes the disease has evolved, and this new strain is resistant to the medications that are used to treat it (Fitzgerald, 2013).
Approximately 630,000 people are currently infected with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, making it the second leading cause of death worldwide after HIV. In January 2013, a new medication known as Sirturo (bedaquiline) received FDA approval. It is basic to follow the impacts of this prescription and track down additional meds to fight this kind of medication-safe TB soon as it has previously turned into a worldwide general well-being concern.
HCS 245 Week 2 Disease in the News
The vast majority of the financing given to fight this awful irresistible sickness is given by the Worldwide Asset. However, in addition to the $3.2 billion USD that could be provided by those nations themselves, both the WHO and the Global Fund have discovered a 1.6 billion dollar variation in international support in 118 low- and middle-income nations (Fitzgerald, 2013). They predict that between 2014 and 2016, approximately six million lives could be saved by providing treatment to 17 million tuberculosis and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis patients with sufficient funding.
Between 1990 and 2015, Africa and Europe wanted to reduce the number of deaths caused by tuberculosis by 50%. Europe and Africa will not achieve this objective due to the fact that Africa had the highest tuberculosis death rate in the world in 2011, with 1.4 million cases. There are two reasons why Africa leads the world in deaths. According to the CDC (2012), tuberculosis (TB) is the cause of nearly a quarter of a million HIV-positive deaths annually, and more than two-thirds of new HIV infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in a dual epidemic. The second reason is that Africa is home to the majority of the world’s poorest countries per capita.
The article continues by stating that 118 nations are eligible for the Global Fund’s financial assistance. This article identifies four priority areas to reduce deaths, treat and alleviate suffering, and slow the rapid spread of drug-resistant TB:
HCS 245 Week 2 Disease in the News
- “A total of $2.6 billion USD is required annually from 2014 to 2016 for expanded diagnosis and effective treatment of drug-susceptible TB.”
- To treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis immediately and effectively, $1.3 billion annually is required.
- $600 million USD is required every year to keep up with the development of new quick diagnostics and connected research centers reinforcing the determination of TB and multi-drug safe TB among individuals with HIV.
- HIV-associated TB interventions (testing TB patients for HIV, providing TB preventive treatment, and testing TB patients for HIV) require approximately $330 million USD (Fitzgerald, 2013).
Although the article was interesting and instructive, I believe it is lacking in some areas. To estimate the aforementioned costs, I’d like to know where and how the WHO and Global Fund came up with these figures. Additionally, they provide specific dollar amounts that are required to combat this epidemic but appear to lack a strategy for raising these funds. I am aware that the majority of the funding comes from grants from the federal and private sectors, as well as money paid by taxpayers, but there is no strategy for addressing the shortfall. This class has piqued my interest in the disease, and I intend to conduct additional research to fully comprehend the scope of the issue and the ways in which the United States and the rest of the world are preventing its spread. How can we fight both diseases when Sub-Saharan Africa is the hardest-hit region and where 71% of HIV-positive people lived in 2012? HCS 245 Week 2 Disease in the News.
References:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov
Fitzgerald, K. (2013, March 19). Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis A Rising Threat. Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/257807.php
