One third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis''.
Dr. Elena Alonso, an aid worker with Doctors Without Borders, explained to the students of the University of Navarra the status of this disease in the world.
On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, Dr. Elena Alonso, an aid worker for Doctors Without Borders in Palestine, Kenya and Zimbabwe and technician at reference letter for AIDS and tuberculosis at the NGO's headquarters in Barcelona, gave a talk to 3rd year Pharmacy students at the University of Navarra on the global status of this disease, which affects a third of the world's population.
Dr. Alonso presented some data about the disease and shared with the students her experience as a member of MSF in Ebron, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
According to him,"today, tuberculosis continues to be a very serious health problem. The WHO estimates that one third of the world's population is infected, and 13% of cases are caused by co-infection with HIV, resulting in 1.4 million deaths per year. "Particularly vulnerable populations are children and AIDS patients in poor areas of Africa," he adds, "although status is hopeful, as the prevalence, incidence and mortality of the disease have declined in recent years.
The expert explained that the treatment of tuberculosis is very complicated: "It requires the combination of at least three drugs to avoid resistance. It is administered for a minimum of six months and costs $4,000 per patient. These are complex drugs with many side effects, and funds for medication are scarce. Not to mention the cases of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which are even more complex and expensive to treat. It is also essential to work with AIDS and tuberculosis as integrated diseases".
A global solution
In this regard, Dr. Alonso underlined the work "on the ground" of Médecins Sans Frontières, which takes medication to the most affected areas. "In addition MSF seeks to ensure that treatments are adhered to person to person and in geographically very complex areas. They also take care of public awareness, staff health, Education for health and prevention, early diagnosis, etc. So the care is patient-centered, and MSF goes from house to house to bring the treatment to the patient," he stresses.
Elena Alonso closed the lecture responding to the students and with the final premise that the solution to this problem must be global, from governments, companies and NGOs. As well as what everyone can contribute from their profession and their status staff .