World Tuberculosis Day: Why raising awareness matters
Tuberculosis (TB) is a devastating worldwide disease, with estimates that one-quarter of the world’s population are latently infected with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that causes TB. According to the latest report from the World Health Organisation there were 10.4 million TB cases and 1.8 million deaths worldwide from TB last year alone. In Coventry, the most recent reporting showed an average annual rate of TB per 100,000 between 2013-2015 of 27.6 which is one of the highest rates in the UK.
In order to eradicate TB every patient needs access to effective diagnosis and treatment. With the looming rise of multi-drug resistant strains of TB this is more important (and difficult) than ever. The 24th of March is World TB day, an annual event to recognise the day that Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the cause of TB. This year the overall theme is to “unite to end TB” and to engage the public about this disease and the exciting new developments being made.
Some of these new developments are being made in the Fullam group at the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick through the study of the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Fullam lab is using a range of biochemical, structural, chemical, imaging and microbiological techniques to understand the tubercule bacillus and use this new information to identify new targets to develop new anti-tubercular drugs and detection methods for diagnostics.
On the 24th of March 2017 members of the lab from 11:00-19:00 will be at Cannon Park Shopping Centre to talk about TB and the developments currently being made in the Fullam Lab at the University of Warwick.
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