Ira Pastor, ideaXme exponential health ambassador and founder of Bioquark, interviews Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, a partnership whose activities focus chiefly on raising awareness about TB and advocating for greater commitment to, and funding for, TB prevention, treatment and research.
Tuberculosis Is Caused by a Single Infectious Agent
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria.
Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections do not have symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. About 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kills about half of those affected. TB is one of the top 10 causes of death and the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent (above HIV/AIDS).
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccine to Combat Forgotten Plague
As of 2018, one-quarter of the world’s population is thought to be infected with TB. New infections occur in about 1% of the population each year. In 2017, there were more than 10 million cases of active TB which resulted in 1.6 million deaths. More than 95% of deaths occurred in developing countries, and more than 50% in India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
Tuberculosis prevention and control efforts rely primarily on the vaccination of infants and the detection and appropriate treatment of active cases, which involves combinations of several antibiotics to reduce the risk of the bacteria developing antibiotic resistance.
The main vaccine is the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine. In children it decreases the risk of getting the infection by 20% and the risk of infection turning into active disease by nearly 60%.
BCG is the most widely used vaccine worldwide, with more than 90% of all children being vaccinated. The immunity it induces decreases after about ten years. A number of new vaccines are in development. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared TB a “global health emergency.”
Dr. Lucica Ditiu Helps to Raise Awareness of TB
Dr. Lucica Ditiu is the Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, a partnership whose activities focus chiefly on raising awareness about TB and advocating for greater commitment to, and funding for, TB prevention, treatment and research.
Its 1,500 partner organizations include international, nongovernmental and governmental organizations and patient groups. The secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland and is administered by The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), an operational arm of the United Nations.
Dr. Ditiu is a physician and public health expert who has devoted her career to helping and supporting people affected by TB, especially those most vulnerable, most stigmatized and living in impoverished communities.
Dr. Ditiu is a specialist in lung diseases and began practicing medicine in 1992 in Romania. She started her international career with the WHO in January 2000 as a medical officer for TB in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, within the disaster and preparedness unit. She has worked for the past 18 years in the WHO and UN system at every level: national, sub-regional, regional and global.
Dr. Ditiu has led the Stop TB Partnership (StopTB) for the last 8 years. Under her leadership, the organization has gained a clear identity and evolved into a lean, innovative and progressive team that represents one of the most influential advocacy voices on global health and tuberculosis, providing support that is financial as well as TB medicines and diagnostics, for a TB response towards a world without TB.
On this episode we will hear from Dr. Ditiu:
About her background; how she developed an interest in science, medicine, pulmonology, and in the public health problem that is TB. The current state of the TB therapeutic and prevention landscape in 2019. Why we are still using vaccines and antibiotic “cocktails” that are many decades old. Why does TB seems like an issue that has taken a bit of a “back seat” to HIV and malaria research? An overview of StopTB. Future research and clinical visions related to TB, such as areas she is most excited about as well as areas of concerns.
Credits: Ira Pastor interview video, text, and audio.
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If you liked this interview, be sure to check out our interview on how the UK Government is trying to add 5 healthy years to citizen’s lives!
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