World Tuberculosis Day being observed today

World Tuberculosis Day is being  observed today. The day is designed to build public awareness about the global resurgence of tuberculosis and efforts to eliminate the disease.

 Today tuberculosis causes the deaths of about 1.7 million people each year, mostly in the Third World countries . The theme for this year is "Reach the three million A TB test, treatment and cure for all".  On this day we spoke to the Director of REACH NGO, Dr Nalini Krishnan about the disease and its preventive measure.

March 24 commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing to a small group of scientists at the University of Berlin's Institute of Hygiene that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. According to Koch’s colleague, Paul Ehrlich, “At this memorable session, Koch appeared before the public with an announcement which marked a turning-point in the story of a virulent human infectious disease. In clear, simple words Koch explained the aetiology of tuberculosis with convincing force, presenting many of his microscope slides and other pieces of evidence.” At the time of Koch's announcement in Berlin, TB was raging through Europe and the Americas, causing the death of one out of every seven people. Koch's discovery opened the way toward diagnosing and curing tuberculosis.