It infects someone every second and will kill 30 million people by decade's end. Those it does not kill, it temporarily debilitates, causing a reduction in workplace productivity. Tuberculosis, or TB, is particularly rampant in Asia, where two of three cases occur. And yet, despite all this, it is curable. WHO has issued a warning on the growing risk of an Asian-wide tuberculosis epidemic.
Lives are at stake, and so are livelihoods.
The DOTS program puts the onus on the health-care system, with health officials required to observe patients taking their medicine each day for six months. This six-month regimen is vital. Patients often stop taking the medication once they feel better. But they may not actually be cured. 15 other people in a year.