Agenda of the event held at PAHO Headquarters in Washington (PDF, 56 Kb)
Presentation by Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva, Area Manager for Health Surveillance and Disease Management at PAHO (PowerPoint, 1030 Kb)
Poster (PDF, 2377 Kb) | Color Brochure (PDF, 707 Kb; text below)
- Tuberculosis is a curable disease; diagnosis and treatment are free.
- TB can strike any of us.
- TB control and elimination depends on all of us.
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The Problem
- TB sickens some 352,000 people, and kills 50,000 each year in the Region of the Americas.
- There are 40 new cases of TB every hour.
- One person dies of TB every 10 minutes.
- TB strikes children, young people, and the elderly; men and women alike.
- Lower defenses, as occurs with a poor diet or HIV infection, predispose people to TB.
- Irregular or incomplete treatment creates drug-resistant TB.
Response
- TB control requires timely diagnosis and continuous treatment that is directly observed by health workers to prevent the emergence of drug resistance.
- Community and family support are important in curing patients.
- Timely diagnosis keeps the disease from worsening, prevents death, and protects the community.
Actions: We all have responsibilities in TB control.
- Government
- Guaranteeing the budget to fight TB.
- Ministries of Health
- Developing TB control standards.
- Guaranteeing the drugs, equipment, and personnel needed to provide for free care for patients.
- Health Facilities
- Providing appropriate care and preferential treatment to TB patients.
- Supporting and educating patients, their families, and the community.
Social Responsibility: Curing one patient protects the entire community.
- Community
- Supporting patients, so they continue their treatment until they are cured.
- Facilitating access to health facilities.
- Assisting health facilities in health promotion.
- Family
- Helping patients complete their treatment.
- Offering sympathy and comfort and providing the patient with nourishing food and housing.
- Patient
- Assuming responsibility for adhering to treatment until cured.
Support local health action wherever you are.
TB anywhere is TB everywhere. |
World TB Day 2007 (Stop TB Partnership) | 10 Facts about Tuberculosis |
PAHO Tuberculosis Page | WHO Tuberculosis Page
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