World TB Day 2010

March 24th is World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. On this day in 1882, Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. World TB Day provides an occasion to raise awareness about progress and challenges in the global fight against TB. The theme for World TB Day 2010 is “On the Move Against Tuberculosis”.

TB is a disease caused by bacteria that usually attacks the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body such as the lymph nodes. The disease can spread when an infected individual coughs, releasing the bacteria in the air, and is breathed into the lungs by another person.

The World Health Organization has reported there were an estimated 9.4 million cases of TB and almost two million TB deaths globally in 2008. Effective cures have been available for decades, yet TB remains the second leading cause of death from infectious disease globally..

Since 2003, the annual reported incidence rate of TB in Canada has remained relatively stable with approximately 1,600 new and re-treatment cases reported annually.

Certain population groups in Canada are disproportionately affected by TB. These include Aboriginal Peoples, the foreign-born from high TB incidence countries, the homeless, HIV infected individuals, and people in institutional settings such as health care and corrections.

The Government of Canada remains committed to the target set in the World Health Organization’s Global Plan to Stop TB, 2006-2015, to reduce the burden of the disease by 50 per cent compared to the 1990 rate. In 2008, the overall incidence rate for new and re-treatment TB cases in Canada was 4.8 per 100,000 population.