According to the World Health Organization, around 10.6 million people worldwide contracted tuberculosis last year. The medical sphere is concerned.
The alarm bell has rung. Tuberculosis is on the rise for the first time in more than 20 years. In all, about 10.6 million people contracted the disease worldwide last year, a 4.5% increase from 2020, according to the World Health Organization, a number that continues to worry the medical world.
“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that solidarity, determination, innovation and the fair use of tools will allow us to overcome serious health threats. Let’s apply these lessons to the fight against tuberculosis,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, reminding that it is time to “put a long-term end to this deadly disease”.
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The lungs are most commonly affected
As a reminder, tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a mycobacterium that is transmitted through the air to children and adults. It most commonly affects the lungs, but sometimes other organs as well, and if left untreated can be fatal.
Several evocative signs of the disease should alarm, they should not be taken lightly. It can manifest itself in particular in the form of a raging fever with very frequent night sweats. From a chronic cough with thick sputum, sometimes containing a few threads of blood. But also through shortness of breath, chest pain, exhaustion, loss of appetite or weight loss.
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As the WHO emphasizes on its website, many new cases of tuberculosis are due to five risk factors: malnutrition, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, smoking and diabetes.
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