Around 13000 Afghans die of TB every year

On March24th, World Tuberculosis Day was celebrated in Afghanistan. According to a recent report written by ministry of public health, around 13000 Afghans die every year due to affliction with TB (Tuberculosis) in Afghanistan.

The ministry of public health said that number of TB cases in Afghanistan is still shocking despite aggressive combat against this disease.

Iman Shankati, representative of the World’s Health Organization (WHO) said 75 percent of victims were young people and 70 percent were female.

According to the WHO, TB kills more young people and adults than any other infectious disease and is the world’s biggest killer of women. TB kills approximately 2 million people worldwide each year and the global epidemic is growing. The breakdown in health services, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the emergence of strains of multi-drug resistant TB are contributing to its spread worldwide.

“The disease is spreading all over the country due to the economic problems of the people,” Iman noted.

Meanwhile, the ministry of public health emphasized that the treatment of the TB disease will be increased by 90 % in the current year.

The 21-year-long war, which broke out with the 1979-1989 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, had interrupted all tuberculosis control programmes in the country.

There were reports the disease was spreading in central parts of the country, suggesting other areas were similarly affected.

According to health experts, of every 100 patients infected with TB and left without treatment for two years, 50 would die, 25 would recover and 25 percent would survive as chronic cases with the potential to infect others.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most deadly infectious diseases in the world. Each year it kills 1.4 million people with nearly another nine million suffering from the disease, mainly in developing countries.

TB is often thought of as a disease of the past but a recent resurgence and the spread of drug-resistant forms makes it very much an issue of the present day and age. Today, TB is one of the three main killer infectious diseases, along with malaria and HIV/AIDS.