Tuberculosis Now Rivals AIDS As Leading Cause of Death, Says WHO
Julie Steenhuysen
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October 28, 2015
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Tuberculosis have been labeled as one of the leading cause of death from infectious diseases, rivaling HIV/AIDS. Throughout 2014, the World Health Organization found that 1.1 million people died of tuberculosis. They found that HIV/AIDS killed 1.2 million people in that same year, globally. Director of the WHO TB program Dr. Mario Raviglione states that the increase in access to HIV/AIDS treatments have helped many people survive. It also reflects the differences in funding for two world's two deadly diseases. Raviglione said, "The good news is that TB intervention has saved some 43 million lives since 2000,"; although death rates seem unusually high considering most cases of TB can be treated. International funding spent for the interventions HIV/AIDS is 10 times higher than for TB, with $8 billion for HIV/AIDS and $800,000 for TB. This is because in poor countries such as Africa, HIV/AIDS is more common. TB is more widespread in China and India where people are able to pay for the treatment.
I never knew Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death. I expected it to be in poor countries like Africa but it is more common in China and India. I thought that the author should've explained what TB is in the article. I think people need to be more aware of Tuberculosis. It kills as many people as HIV/AIDS, although HIV/AIDS cannot be cured once contracted. The number of deaths due to TB is unusually high. That is because there is not a lot of funding for it. If more people, globally, can help fund for treatments, then the death rate for sure will decrease. We need to use our money more wisely to help those who really needs it. We should spend more money on a curable disease like TB rather than an incurable disease like HIV/AIDS.
I never knew Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death. I expected it to be in poor countries like Africa but it is more common in China and India. I thought that the author should've explained what TB is in the article. I think people need to be more aware of Tuberculosis. It kills as many people as HIV/AIDS, although HIV/AIDS cannot be cured once contracted. The number of deaths due to TB is unusually high. That is because there is not a lot of funding for it. If more people, globally, can help fund for treatments, then the death rate for sure will decrease. We need to use our money more wisely to help those who really needs it. We should spend more money on a curable disease like TB rather than an incurable disease like HIV/AIDS.