The Feb. 11, 2013, edition of Thorax, coinciding with world TB day, examined the increasing number of drug resistant cases of tuberculosis across the world, the causes of the increased number of TB cases, and defined possible scenarios that can cope with and possibly prevent an explosion of TB comparable with that experienced in the 1930s in the United States.
During the 1930s, people with TB were sent to dedicated sanitaria where they were treated for TB. The editors and authors of the series of articles in Thorax predict a similar circumstance will occur by 2050.
TB can be spread person to person by breathing contaminated air. The ease of spread of the disease is the rationale behind sanataria.
The researchers note that drug resistant TB is spread largely through immigration from countries that lack the higher levels of health care seen in the United States and Europe.
Solutions include routine examinations of all immigrants for TB prior to entry into a new country and routine treatment through inoculation of all children who may have come into contact with a person that has TB.
People that are particularly susceptible to TB are those who have diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and a lowered immune response due to HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
The research was reviewed at the Eureka Alert website the date of publication.
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