Control of Infectious Disease

Introduction

Infectious diseases are a major threat to most countries, specifically the developing countries such as India (J, 2011). Over the past few years, these diseases have been difficult to control in these countries due to the high number of population as well as the lack of capital to provide the appropriate medication (C, 2012). One of these diseases is Tuberculosis, which is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases that is spread through the air. Research shows that countries such as India suffer from this infectious disease in some of the most populated regions and it’s one of the leading causes of deaths (Tuberculosis, 2017). It’s infectious, implying that it spreads from one infected individual to the next, and in some occasions, it spreads very quick.

Apart from being infectious, the ailment is an opportunist contamination as it exploits those with weak immune system, and particularly the ones with fatal sicknesses like HIV. In this assignment, reasons as to why countries need to be concerned about this infectious disease will be highlighted (Tuberculosis, 2017). Through these reasons, it will be clearly seen that TB is a disease that requires a lot of attention due to the damage that it can do to a country. Likewise, WHO’s initiatives to control this disease will be reviewed (Tuberculosis, 2017). Through these initiatives, it will be seen that though it’s a difficult ailment to contain once it starts spreading, necessary precautions can reduce its spread. Highlighted below are some of the reasons why countries need to be concerned about TB;

TB Can Lead to Death

According to WHO research, TB is among the top 10 causes of deaths in most countries, especially those termed as third world countries (Tuberculosis, 2017). Due to its ability to attack individuals whose immune system is weak, this infectious disease spreads fast mostly in populated regions. Lack of medical treatment eventually causes the death of the people infected. India is a good example of a nation where TB is a common threat. This infectious disease has threatened this country over the last three decades, and it has reached a point whereby it has been termed as a huge concern.

It’s estimated that approximately 400 000 citizens of India die annually due to the menace of TB. This number is high because it’s a disease causing the death and not any other reason such as accidents (Tuberculosis, 2017). TB is not selective when it comes to choosing the age of its victims, and this makes it even more dangerous. Most of the people affected by Tuberculosis range from 15-45 years based on research in India (C, 2012). This group of individuals are the ones that a country depends on for its development. The age group represents the energetic youth as well as the working class. If a country loses 400 000 citizens within this age group due to TB, its development becomes slow (C, 2012). This should, therefore, raise concern in most countries which are affected by this kind of infectious disease.

Death as a result of TB is also known to affect the economy of a country. Once an individual is affected by TB, he or she faces at least six months of inactivity because this is the period required for the treatment of the disease (C, 2012). During this period, a country lacks the necessary force to boost its economic development, and it gets worse when such an individual eventually dies. Death is, therefore, an occurrence that no country would like to be associated with. Therefore, it’s clear that all countries should be concerned with the occurrence of TB because this infectious disease would massively affect its development, mostly economically.

Treatment

The treatment of a single patient of TB is very costly, both regarding the capital used as well as the time used. It’s a disease that requires a lot of time to cure. More than six months of treatment is needed for an individual to recover from this disease entirely. As stated earlier, TB is a disease that spreads very fast in most populated areas (Tuberculosis, 2017). Once some people become infected with this disease, a country is faced with one of the most difficult tasks of providing treatment. Rather than using the capital to boost development in other sectors such as transport, such a country will find itself spending a lot of money treating patients of TB (C, 2012).

TB patients are required to undergo at least two years of observation so as to recover from the infection fully. The first six months are termed as the most important for the treatment where the patients receive daily injections. This kind of therapy has proven to be difficult, sometimes impossible in most of the developing countries such as India. If treating one individual is sometimes a problem, it can be a disaster if some people are affected by the outbreak of this disease. Due to the cost of treatment, most countries are encouraged to be aware of any outbreak of TB (Tuberculosis, 2017). The huge amounts of capital required for the treatment of the disease should, therefore, raise concerns in most countries, specifically the third world countries.

Relationship Between TB and HIV

One of the reasons why TB is considered as an infection that acts as an opportunist is because it tends to attack weak immune systems (C, 2012). Once a person suffers, for example, from HIV, his or her immune system becomes weak, and this means that such a person’s immune system becomes weak. A patient of HIV can easily be affected by TB, and this decreases the chances of survival of such an individual (Tuberculosis, 2017). Nearly all countries have people who are affected by HIV. Prolonging the life of such people through some medications has proven to be a difficult task. Therefore, if these patients are affected by TB, it will become even harder to afford their cure (C, 2012).

Therefore, countries should be concerned by the spread of TB especially in patients who are already affected by HIV. This is because the such individuals’ lives are at risk and their death would mean that a country’s development is affected. In India for example, research has shown that a good number of people suffering from TB are already affected by HIV (C, 2012). This means that the presence of this virus increases the chances of people getting affected by the infectious disease. Most cases of TB are reported in HIV patients, and this raises a concern in India as the combination of the two diseases has become almost impossible to handle.

WHO’s Initiatives to Control TB

WHO is a global organisation which has taken the case of TB seriously. It has made some attempts to control the spread of TB as well as to provide some treatments so as to reduce the cases of this infectious disease globally (C, 2012). However, one of the major initiative by this organisation has been the education that it’s providing to people on how they can abstain from TB. Some of these initiatives by WHO are discussed below;

• A campaign has been raised by this organisation to end the spread of Tuberculosis, and in this campaign, other groups such as the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) have been invited to help in the fight against TB (Tuberculosis, 2017).
• The campaign, termed as “Unite to End TB” is meant to solve the issue of this infectious disease within a given period where different concerns about TB such as stigma and discrimination are to be addressed (Tuberculosis, 2017).
• Through this campaign, issues such as the right way to follow medication, discovering early signs of TB and methods of controlling its spread will be addressed (C, 2012). Through this campaign, WHO together with UNGA and UN will be able to reduce the cases of TB considerably (Tuberculosis, 2017).

Conclusion

TB is an infectious disease that is a significant concern in most developing countries. Discussed above are the main reasons why TB should be a big concern in most countries. These reasons explain that TB affects the development of a country significantly due to the number of deaths that it causes (C, 2012). Likewise, a lot of capital is spent while making attempts of curing people who are infected. Measures should be taken to control the spread of TB through some efforts such as Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) (C, 2012). Through these measures together with the initiatives of WHO, countries can be able to control the effects of TB.