TB for the Poor

While TB is not often the topic of discussion in many richer countries, it is for the poorer ones. In Tajikistan the death toll from TB has continued to rise over the years. Despite this general agreement that Tajikistan’s present plague is TB, no one can reach a consensus as to what the actual percentage of the population is contaminated. The WHO, the World Health Organization, claims that there were 204 cases per 100,000 people of people infected with TB in 2006 alone. On the other hand, the Tajik health ministry claims that there were only 75 new cases in 2006. Whether the actual toll is 204/100,000 people or 75, who knows. What we do know is any of those numbers is too high, especially because richer countries do not seem to have such high numbers.
One of the main reasons why TB is so common in areas like Tajikistan is because this country is poor. Impoverished countries have few of the necessary resources to control the outbreaks. There is poor sanitation, few drugs, not enough clean food and poor health care standards. In fact, the Who claims that the Tajik government spends less than $100 per person on healthcare. Making problems even worse, few civilians have the opportunity to become educated about the disease. Consequently, few are aware of the ways in which the disease is spread. This means that the vicious cycle continues. There is little hope, unless something drastic happens to change their predicament.

For more info, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7773139.stm