For this week’s activity post, I have decided to research the importance of addressing Tuberculosis (TB) in Cambodia. Tuberculosis is defined as “an airborne bacterial infection that is caused by the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosisthat primarily affects the lungs but can also affect surrounding organs and tissues” (American Heart Association). TB affects the body by weakening the immune system and spreading to attack the rest of the body. Common side effects are cough, chest pain and bloody mucus, loss of appetite, fever, chills and even death (AHA).
Unfortunately, Cambodia has one the highest rates of TB infections in the world. To put this into perspective, there are 437 cases per 100,000 that are affected by this disease which results in 66 deaths per year. When compared to other countries in East Asia, the average number of cases each year is 117 out of every 100,000 (Chen, 2015). Out of their entire population of 14 million, that means 61,000 people each year fall ill from TB (Khann, Sokhan, et al). Men actually have a higher chance of getting TB than women. The reason for this is because of things like HIV, undernutrition, crowded conditions, and tobacco are things that attribute to weakening the immune system. Having HIV alone increases the chance of TB by 26-31 times the average number (Chen, 2015). The reason that I bring this up, is because society is starting to become more accepting of same sex relationships which puts more of a risk on those that are a part of this community.
Luckily for women that are pregnant, TB can be treated, and the disease can be stopped from passing down to the baby. If untreated, the baby can have a lower birth rate and in rare cases can even be born with TB (CDC). In order to prevent getting TB there is a shot that can be given that helps protect the body from the infection. If a person already has the infection, TB can be a lengthy process to get rid of, but antibiotics can be given to help get rid of it. Luckily, Cambodia has implemented programs that aid in the prevention of contracting TB, provide treatment to those infected, as well as educational opportunities to inform the public on the severity of the infection. These programs are provided to deter the continued spread of this disease.
The reason it is so important to address this issue is that so many people are put at risk because they don’t get the proper healthcare required to protect themselves. This may be as simple as receiving a vaccination or obtaining the proper antibiotics. TB is something that is preventable and there are many resources to help stop the spread of it however, the lack of knowledge and understanding may put more people at risk. From a public health standpoint, this is actually a huge problem especially in low income, high-poverty areas of the world-such as Cambodia. The reason it is so difficult to get it under control in developing countries is because there is not an effective surveillance system to monitor those who do have it and those who do not, there is not an efficient way in identifying the case of TB, and the program that is helping administer vaccines, promote information and health, and treatment for the issue, is sometimes difficult to get in places that do not have the resources (Zaman, 2010).
“Learn About Tuberculosis.” American Lung Association, www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/tuberculosis/learn-about-tuberculosis.html.
Chen, Kevin. “Southeast Asia: Regional Incidence of Tuberculosis in Cambodia.” Yale Global Health Review, 11 Sept. 2015, yaleglobalhealthreview.com/2015/04/26/southeast-asia-regional-incidence-of-tuberculosis-in-cambodia/.
“Treatment of Tuberculosis Guidelines 4thEdition.” “World Health Organization,World Health Organization.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pK0fqlkjFGsC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=tuberculosis&ots=ZidEASU0rA&sig=5R2fKufqUow2MWVzNUIDXDlE9qw#v=onepage&q&f=false
“WPRO | Tuberculosis.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 21 Oct. 2017, www.wpro.who.int/cambodia/areas/tuberculosis/en/.
Khann, Sokhan, et al. “Linkage of Presumptive Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Patients to Diagnostic and Treatment Services in Cambodia.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059903.
“TB Treatment & Pregnancy | Treatment | TB | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/treatment/pregnancy.htm.
Zaman, K. “Tuberculosis: a Global Health Problem.” Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Apr. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2980871/.