Tubercu
losis is the most lethal infectious disease worldwide. We are fighting to end it.
TB globally is rife with inequity as it is most intensely felt in low-resource countries. Some countries have an incidence as low as 5 per 100,000 individuals while others see an incidence as high as 500 per 100,000 individuals. In 2018, an estimated 10.0 million people developed active TB disease and another 1.8 million people died. Not only is this disease preventable, it is readily curable as well.
Partnering with local champions and organizations in high-burden settings, The Zero TB Initiative works to create "islands of elimination" through a comprehensive epidemic control approach. The goal is to scale up these local efforts to nation-wide programs for driving down rates of TB. From Odessa, Ukraine to Lima, Peru, we are collaborating to create comprehensive TB programs that uphold the paradigm of The Initiative: search actively in the community for cases of TB; treat all forms of TB, including TB infection; and prevent future infection by ensuring proper therapeutics are available for everyone and social support systems are in place to make sure patients complete treatment regimens.
Mobile X-ray screening vans are a powerful tool
for active case finding as a part of the Search, Treat, Prevent approach to TB elimination.
These mobile vans are used in Karachi, Pakistan, one of ZTBI's partner cities.
A Comprehensive Approach
While there are many excellent treatment TB programs outside of wealthy health systems, very few contain all the programmatic elements called for by a review of the available evidence. The Zero TB Cities project is committed to utilizing an evidence-based, comprehensive framework to significantly increase case detection and reduce TB disease and death rates. A rigorous study of the effect of the initiative's interventions and those of partners in each city will contribute to the evidence base that exists for optimizing TB programs. Click here to learn more about The Zero TB Initiative and the programs we have fostered in cities all over the world.