March 6, 2008
World TB Day is March 24
By Dr. David Park
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, HMC
On March 24, 1882, Dr. Robert Koch, a German physician and scientist, announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). Each year, World TB Day commemorates Koch’s historic discovery and serves as a catalyst for efforts to achieve the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating tuberculosis by 2050.
Locally, World TB Day will be observed with a community forum at 7 p.m. on March 24 at Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave. in Seattle. Presented by the Washington State Tuberculosis Advisory Council and the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, and sponsored by the Firland Foundation, this free event is open to all interested members of the community.
Highlights include:
- A panel discussion, “Talk TB, Stop TB,” with leaders in tuberculosis research and care.
- An interactive display showing the history of tuberculosis in Washington State and beyond.
- Exhibits about infectious disease and global health.
- Information about how to get involved in the campaign to stop TB.
At the time of Koch’s discovery, tuberculosis claimed the lives of one out of every seven people in the United States and Europe. Today, it continues to pose a significant global health threat. Nearly 2 billion people, or one-third of the world’s population, are infected with the TB bacillus, and approximately 9 million people become ill with TB disease each year.
Even in the United States, where the number of cases has been decreasing since the early 1900s, an estimated 9 to 15 million Americans remain infected, and nearly 14,000 cases of TB disease are reported each year.
David Park, M.D., is a UW associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Harborview Medical Center and chair of the Washington State TB Advisory Council. For more information about the community forum at Town Hall, visit www.harborview.org or contact Lee Schoentrup at 206-256-7200.
