Still deadly after all these years: World TB Day is March 24

World TB Day -- March 24 -- marks Robert Koch's discovery of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacillus in 1882. Today, TB remains one of the world's most serious health threats, killing millions annually in the developing world, and striking at communities in Canada. UBC researcher Charles Thompson and colleagues at UBC's Centre for Tuberculosis Research are investigating new approaches to combating TB. Next week, they're also holding public talks to increase awareness of this surprisingly stubborn disease.

Many people view TB as either a historical disease, or a modest problem isolated to the developing world. What are some of the global impacts?

The WHO estimates that two billion people--1/3 of the world's population--are infected with the bacterium that causes TB. While significant efforts have been made to diagnose and treat the disease, the staggering size of the problem and resources necessary are formidable barriers. Aside from the dramatic mortality rate, TB infection drains approximately $12 billion from the annual incomes of the world’s poorest communities.

This is a Canadian problem. As a globally minded, developed country, we have a responsibility to aid the developing world in their battle against this devastating disease, and to treat individuals that may acquire TB here at home.

How is TB impacting communities closer to home?

Aboriginal, foreign born and HIV infected populations have an increased incidence of the disease. In metropolitan centres such as Vancouver, which have a large HIV-infected, homeless population, and illicit street drug use among the homeless population, there is the growing fear and reality that drug resistant TB strains might spread.

In a careful analysis of a recent outbreak of tuberculosis in BC, a group of local scientists, clinicians and health care workers showed how the disease spreads throughout high risk social networks in aboriginal populations, reemphasizing the need to identify and treat carriers of TB as soon as possible.

What can people do to get involved and help?

Individuals can learn more about these challenges at home and abroad. Next week UBC researchers Lindsay Eltis and Santiago Ramon Garcia have organized a public talk to raise awareness of the devastating toll TB takes on populations in the developing world and Canada.

At a policy level, we can provide more support for local research teams. Researchers at UBC would like to develop new therapies for TB that use synergistic new combinations of existing drugs to combat TB, and have identified compounds that inhibit TB’s formidable drug resistance. We’ve also identified compounds that assist the human immune system to resist and eliminate infection, and are investigating ways to starve TB of the cholesterol it needs to grow. Public understanding and support is key to building on the promise of this research.