Professor Guy B. Marks
President and (Interim) Executive Director, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
Our efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) are not working. Learn how we must break the chain of transmission to eradicate this disease.
Why we are not on track to end TB
Tuberculosis is both preventable and treatable; after all, we’ve had the technology to diagnose it for 125 years. Yet, we are still no closer to eradicating this deadly disease. That’s in spite of much of the so-called ‘developed’ world having all but wiped-out the disease in their own countries decades ago — and the years of advancements in the efficacy and accessibility of tools for detecting and treating TB since then.
The reason why is simple: we’re taking the wrong approach. The only solution is to break the chain of transmission and prevent the disease from spreading.
Breaking the chain of transmission
Our current TB approach often relies upon people with symptoms presenting themselves for care, and then receiving a diagnosis and treatment. However, most people with an active TB disease do not have symptoms.
The only solution is to break the chain of transmission and prevent the disease from spreading.
These people are still contagious but are not being identified and thus continue to pass the disease on. It’s for this reason that everyone in high-burden countries is at risk. This is why our approach must prioritise universal screening and active case finding.
Universal TB screening and active diagnostics
Identifying allpeople with TB disease is crucial to stamping-out the disease. It is the only way that all cases can be found, and the chain of transmission effectively broken. We know this because it has already worked. According to our study in Vietnam, active case finding yielded a 57% decrease in incidence of infection over three years. That’s compared to a global average of 2%.
Learning from the evidence
The fact that TB persists is not only a failure to translate the benefits of scientific innovation into public health gains; it is a historic injustice against the most vulnerable in global society. We have both the tools and the knowledge necessary to end TB for good. By listening to the evidence and breaking the chain of transmission, this can be achieved.
