The theme
Unite to End TB: Leave no one
behind
2017 is the second year of a two-year "Unite to End
TB" campaign for World TB Day. This year, WHO will place a
special focus on uniting efforts to "Leave No One Behind",
including actions to address stigma, discrimination, marginalization and
overcome barriers to access care.
The Sustainable Development agenda embraces the principle of
ensuring no one is left behind in an effort to transform the world and improve
people’s lives for the better. Addressing the health needs of the
disadvantaged, the marginalized, those out of reach of the health system will
mean improving access to health services for everyone. This is essential in
order to reach the target of ending TB by 2030 as part of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals and the WHO End TB Strategy.
World TB Day provides the platform for affected persons and
communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers, policy makers,
development partners and others to advocate, discuss and plan further
collaboration to fulfil the promise of reaching all people with quality TB
prevention and care services, as well as enabling TB prevention through
multisectoral development efforts.
Background
Last year, WHO reported that 10.4 million people fell ill with TB
and there were 1.8 million TB deaths in 2015, making it the top infectious
killer worldwide. This disease is deeply rooted in populations where human
rights and dignity are limited. While anyone can contract TB, the disease
thrives among people living in poverty, communities and groups that are
marginalized, and other vulnerable populations.
These include: migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities, miners and
others working and living in risk-prone settings, the elderly, marginalized
women and children in many settings etc. Factors such as malnutrition, poor
housing and sanitation, compounded by other risk factors such as tobacco and
alcohol use and diabetes, affect vulnerability to TB and access to care.
Furthermore, this access is often hindered by catastrophic costs associated
with illness, seeking and staying in care, and lack of social protection,
resulting in a vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health. The transmission of
multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) adds great urgency to these concerns.
Key facts
·
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of death
worldwide.
·
In 2015, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and 1.8 million
died from the disease (including 0.4 million among people with HIV). Over 95%
of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
·
Six countries account for 60% of the total, with India leading
the count, followed by Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa.
·
In 2015, an estimated 1 million children became ill with TB and
170 000 children died of TB (excluding children with HIV).
·
TB is a leading killer of HIV-positive people: in 2015, 35% of
HIV deaths were due to TB.
·
Globally in 2015, an estimated 480 000 people developed
multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).
·
TB incidence has fallen by an average of 1.5% per year since
2000. This needs to accelerate to a 4–5% annual decline to reach the 2020
milestones of the "End TB Strategy".
·
An estimated 49 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis
and treatment between 2000 and 2015.
·
Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of
the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals.
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium
tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and
preventable.
TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people
with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A
person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.
About one-third of the world's population has latent TB, which
means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill with the
disease and cannot transmit the disease.
People infected with TB bacteria have a 10% lifetime risk of
falling ill with TB. However, persons with compromised immune systems, such as
people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco,
have a much higher risk of falling ill.
When a person develops active TB disease, the symptoms (such as
cough, fever, night sweats, or weight loss) may be mild for many months. This
can lead to delays in seeking care, and results in transmission of the bacteria
to others. People with active TB can infect 10–15 other people through close
contact over the course of a year. Without proper treatment, 45% of
HIV-negative people with TB on average and nearly all HIV-positive people with
TB will die.
Who is most at risk?
Tuberculosis mostly affects adults in their most productive years.
However, all age groups are at risk. Over 95% of cases and deaths are in
developing countries.
People who are infected with HIV are 20 to 30 times more likely to
develop active TB (see TB and HIV section below). The risk of active TB is also
greater in persons suffering from other conditions that impair the immune
system.
One million children (0–14 years of age) fell ill with TB, and 170
000 children (excluding children with HIV) died from the disease in 2015.
Tobacco use greatly increases the risk of TB disease and death.
More than 20% of TB cases worldwide are attributable to smoking.
Global impact of TB
TB occurs in every part of the world. In 2015, the largest number
of new TB cases occurred in Asia, with 61% of new cases, followed by Africa,
with 26% of new cases.
In 2015, 87% of new TB cases occurred in the 30 high TB burden
countries. Six countries accounted for 60% of the new TB cases: India,
Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa. Global progress depends
on advances in TB prevention and care in these countries.
Symptoms and diagnosis
Common symptoms of active lung TB are cough with sputum and blood
at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. Many
countries still rely on a long-used method called sputum smear microscopy to
diagnose TB. Trained laboratory technicians look at sputum samples under a
microscope to see if TB bacteria are present. Microscopy detects only half the
number of TB cases and cannot detect drug-resistance.
The use of the rapid test Xpert MTB/RIF® has expanded
substantially since 2010, when WHO first recommended its use. The test
simultaneously detects TB and resistance to rifampicin, the most important TB
medicine. Diagnosis can be made within 2 hours and the test is now recommended
by WHO as the initial diagnostic test in all persons with signs and symptoms of
TB. More than 100 countries are already using the test and 6.2 million
cartridges were procured globally in 2015.
Diagnosing multi-drug resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB
(see Multidrug-resistant TB section below) as well as HIV-associated TB can be
complex and expensive. In 2016, 4 new diagnostic tests were recommended by WHO
– a rapid molecular test to detect TB at peripheral health centres where Xpert
MTB/RIF cannot be used, and 3 tests to detect resistance to first- and
second-line TB medicines.
Tuberculosis is particularly difficult to diagnose in children and
as yet only the Xpert MTB/RIF assay is generally available to assist with the
diagnosis of paediatric TB.
Treatment
TB is a treatable and curable disease. Active, drug-susceptible TB
disease is treated with a standard 6 month course of 4 antimicrobial drugs that
are provided with information, supervision and support to the patient by a
health worker or trained volunteer. Without such support, treatment adherence
can be difficult and the disease can spread. The vast majority of TB cases can
be cured when medicines are provided and taken properly.
Between 2000 and 2015, an estimated 49 million lives were saved
through TB diagnosis and treatment.
TB and HIV
At least one-third of people living with HIV worldwide in 2015
were infected with TB bacteria. People living with HIV are 20 to 30 times more
likely to develop active TB disease than people without HIV.
HIV and TB form a lethal combination, each speeding the other's
progress. In 2015 about 0.4 million people died of HIV-associated TB. About 35%
of deaths among HIV-positive people were due to TB in 2015. In 2015 there were
an estimated 1.2 million new cases of TB amongst people who were HIV-positive,
71% of whom were living in Africa.
WHO recommends a 12-component approach of collaborative TB-HIV
activities, including actions for prevention and treatment of infection and
disease, to reduce deaths.
Multidrug-resistant TB
Anti-TB medicines have been used for decades and strains that are
resistant to 1 or more of the medicines have been documented in every country
surveyed. Drug resistance emerges when anti-TB medicines are used
inappropriately, through incorrect prescription by health care providers, poor
quality drugs, and patients stopping treatment prematurely.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of TB caused
by bacteria that do not respond to isoniazid and rifampicin, the 2 most
powerful, first-line anti-TB drugs. MDR-TB is treatable and curable by using
second-line drugs. However, second-line treatment options are limited and
require extensive chemotherapy (up to 2 years of treatment) with medicines that
are expensive and toxic.
In some cases, more severe drug resistance can develop.
Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is a more serious form of MDR-TB caused
by bacteria that do not respond to the most effective second-line anti-TB
drugs, often leaving patients without any further treatment options.
About 480 000 people worldwide developed MDR-TB in 2015. In
addition, around 100 000 people developed resistance to rifampicin (the most
effective first-line medicine) and needed MDR-TB treatment. The MDR-TB burden
largely falls on 3 countries – China, India, and the Russian Federation – which
together account for nearly half of the global cases. About 9.5% of MDR-TB
cases had XDR-TB in 2015.
Worldwide, only 52% of MDR-TB patients and 28% of XDR-TB are
currently successfully treated. In 2016, WHO approved the use of a short,
standardised regimen for MDR-TB patients who do not have strains that are
resistant to second-line TB medicines. This regimen takes 9–12 months and is
much less expensive than the conventional treatment for MDR-TB, which can take
up to 2 years. Patients with XDR-TB or resistance to second-line anti-TB drugs
cannot use this regimen, however, and need to be put on longer MDR-TB regimens
to which 1 of the new drugs (bedquiline and delamanid) may be added.
WHO also approved in 2016 a rapid diagnostic test to quickly
identify these patients. More than 20 countries in Africa and Asia have started
using shorter MDR-TB regimens. By the end of 2015, 70 countries had introduced
bedaquiline and 39 countries had introduced delamanid, in an effort to improve
the effectiveness of MDR-TB treatment regimens.
WHO response
WHO pursues 6 core functions in addressing TB:
1.
Providing global leadership on matters critical to TB.
2.
Developing evidence-based policies, strategies and standards for
TB prevention, care and control, and monitoring their implementation.
3.
Providing technical support to Member States, catalyzing change,
and building sustainable capacity.
4.
Monitoring the global TB situation, and measuring progress in TB
care, control, and financing.
5.
Shaping the TB research agenda and stimulating the production,
translation and dissemination of valuable knowledge.
6.
Facilitating and engaging in partnerships for TB action.
The WHO "End TB Strategy", adopted by the
World Health Assembly in May 2014, is a blueprint for countries to end the TB
epidemic by driving down TB deaths, incidence and eliminating catastrophic
costs. It outlines global impact targets to reduce TB deaths by 90%, to cut new
cases by 80% between 2015 and 2030, and to ensure that no family is burdened
with catastrophic costs due to TB.
Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the
newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals. WHO has gone one step further and
set a 2035 target of 95% reduction in deaths and a 90% decline in TB incidence
– similar to current levels in low TB incidence countries today.
The Strategy outlines three strategic pillars that need to be put
in place to effectively end the epidemic:
·
Pillar 1: integrated patient-centred care and prevention
·
Pillar 2: bold policies and supportive systems
·
Pillar 3: intensified research and innovation
The success of the Strategy will depend on countries respecting
the following 4 key principles as they implement the interventions outlined in
each pillar:
·
government stewardship and accountability, with monitoring and
evaluation
·
strong coalition with civil society organizations and
communities
·
protection and promotion of human rights, ethics and equity
·
adaptation of the strategy and targets at country level, with
global collaboration.
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