About 44,000 Tuberculosis (TB) affected people died in the country in 2021, speakers said based on a statistic from World Health Organization (WHO). Besides, around 3.60 lakh people are affected by Tuberculosis (TB) in the country annually, they said this at a discussion titled ‘Advocacy Networking Meeting on TB and COVID-19’ in a hotel at Gulshan-2 in the capital on Monday. However, it is not possible to identify 15% of those patients., Hence, they remain unidentified mainly due to a lack of awareness and social stigma, though there is an improved system of its treatment available in the country, they observed.    Organized by Nari Maitree, a national development organization, Dr. Md. Khurshid Alam, Line Director of the National TB Control Programme, attended as the chief guest.  Read: For many with disabilities, health inequities lead to early death Chaired by Shaheen Akter Dolly, Executive Director of Nari Maitree, Brig Gen Md. Zubaidur Rahman, Chief Health Officer of Dhaka North City Corporation, Dr. Afzalur Rahman. Assistant Director of NTP, Dr. Shayla Islam, Head of the Communicable Disease programme of BRAC, among others, spoke at the event.        Daily a minimum 978 people are being affected by the disease on average. Of them, 16 are Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) patients, they said.      “To eliminate TB, it is needed to strengthen advocacy and coordination among all stakeholders, and increase funding by donors, and attach priority to the issue of treatment of TB”.  Over 50 representatives from various organizations attended the event.  Presenting the keynote paper, Masuda Begum, Director of Health and Nutrition Division of Nari Maitree, termed TB as the health burden of Bangladesh. Citing statistics of WHO, she said Bangladesh is one of the 30 countries in the world where the disease is more prevalent.      The event was told that the Bangladesh government is working to formulate a five-year long (2021-2025) national plan of action for prevention of TB. Read: Dengue patients are dying due to seeking treatment late: Health Minister An open discussion was also held to inform, mobilize and coordinate TB communities for strategic engagement ahead of the United Nations High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) in 2023. Dr. Khurshid Alam said, the National TB Control Programme is working to eradicate TB. Stressing collaboration among all the stakeholders, he called for spreading the messages about the availability of free treatment and diagnosis of TB among people through advocacy programmes.  "We are hopeful that we would be able to root out the disease from Bangladesh soon with the combined efforts of all concerned, including the government", said Shaheen Akter Dolly, ED of  Nari Maitree. She called on the government to contribute more financially to make the TB programme a success.  Nari Maitree has been working with the government to end TB since 2004.

The number of people infected with tuberculosis, including the kind resistant to drugs, rose globally for the first time in years, according to a report issued Thursday by the World Health Organization. The U.N. health agency said more than 10 million people worldwide were sickened by tuberculosis in 2021, a 4.5% rise from the year before. About 1.6 million people died, it said. WHO said about 450,000 cases involved people infected with drug-resistant TB, 3% more than in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted services for people with TB along with many other health programs. WHO said many people went undiagnosed, noting that the number of people newly identified with TB fell from 7 million in 2019 to 5.8 million in 2020. Dr. Mel Spigelman, president of the non-profit TB Alliance, said more than a decade of progress was lost in 2020. “Despite gains in areas like preventative therapy, we are still behind in just about every pledge and goal regarding TB,” Spigelman said. After COVID-19, TB is the world’s deadliest infectious disease. It is caused by bacteria that typically affects the lungs. The germs are mostly spread from person to person in the air, such as when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. Read: Reporting on tuberculosis: icddr,b-led USAID ACTB announces media fellowship for journalists TB mostly affects adults, particularly those who are malnourished or have other conditions like HIV; more than 95% of cases are in developing countries. According to the WHO report, only one in three people with drug-resistant TB are receiving treatment. “Drug-resistant TB is curable, but alarmingly, cases are on the rise for the first time in years,” Dr. Hannah Spencer, who is with Doctors Without Borders in South Africa, said. “It’s urgent that shorter, safer and more effective treatments are scaled up now.” Spencer called for lowering the prices of TB treatment so a complete treatment course costs no more than $500. WHO said ongoing conflicts in eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East have worsened the options for patients seeking TB diagnosis and treatment. Ukraine had one of the world’s worst TB epidemics even before Russia invaded the country in late February. Health experts fear the inability of patients to get treated could fuel the rise of more drug-resistant TB across the region. While TB patients displaced by the war can seek care anywhere in Ukraine, the country has seen a shortage of key medicines and authorities face challenges in keeping track of patients.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Mission Director Randy Ali on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s first one-stop tuberculosis (TB) service centre in the city. US investment helped transform Shyamoli TB hospital into state-of-the-art health facility to test, diagnose and treat all forms of tuberculosis (TB) under one roof. With USAID support, the National TB Programme will open four more one-stop TB service centers across the country in the next several years. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s National TB Programme has transformed the 250-bed TB hospital in Shyamoli into the premier centre to treat TB by equipping the facility with state-of-the-art testing and laboratory equipment.  USAID’s Alliance for Combating TB project also trained a specialized pool of doctors to detect and diagnose the disease—especially multi-drug-resistant TB, and to provide safe and effective treatment for all forms of TB to patients on site. As a result, TB patients no longer need referrals to travel to another facility and are able to begin treatment regimens quickly and more easily following their diagnosis—improving their chances of beating the disease.  “We’re pleased to open the doors to this impressive one-stop TB centre and help protect the lives of many who’re fighting this disease,” said Miller. He said this is part of their shared vision between the United States and Bangladesh in helping people across this country strive for healthier and more prosperous lives for themselves and their families. “Improving access to critical testing and treatment services for all forms of TB—especially multi-drug-resistant strains of the disease—will help Bangladesh cure many more people through timely treatment while preventing new infections,” said USAID Deputy Mission Director Randy Ali. Over the past 10 years, the United States has invested more than $100 million to advance tuberculosis control efforts in Bangladesh and donated 72 GeneXpert rapid TB testing machines to increase detection and treatment rates, and put positive cases under immediate treatment.  Through USAID, the US government has provided more than $8 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh since its independence, said the US Embassy in Bangladesh.

An estimated 1.4 million fewer people received necessary care for tuberculosis (TB) during 2020 compared with the previous year, because of Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

The health condition of legendary actor and parliamentary member Akbar Hossain Pathan, popularly known as Farooque, who is undergoing treatment in Singapore, is stable, according to his son.

Despite steady progress in tackling tuberculosis (TB) in recent years, global targets for prevention and treatment will likely be missed largely due to insufficient funding and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a latest report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Derrick S. Brown has launched USAID’s flagship tuberculosis (TB) activity Alliance for Combating Tuberculosis in Bangladesh (ACTB) in Sylhet Division as part of the US government’s commitment to end TB globally.

Tuberculosis, a highly infectious disease, remains a major public health threat in the country with 99,000 cases reported in the first six months of this year, data show while an estimated 247 cases per day remain undetected due to asymptomatic condition or lack of access to screening of the disease, icddr,b said.

Prominent actor, politician and Member of Parliament from Dhaka-17 constituency Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque has been diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB) at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. "The doctors here have found that it’s TB (Tuberculosis). I’ve been taking treatment under four specialist doctors and they will observe me for four weeks," the National Award-winning actor shared his condition with media on Tuesday. Assuring that his condition is improving, the eminent actor said: "I’m feeling much better than before and expecting to return as soon as possible after my recovery. Please keep me in prayers."

National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) and BRAC have taken a unique approach for TB detection through a high-tech mobile x-ray vans.