The World Health Organization's recent report on infectious diseases aims to increase awareness of the leading six infectious diseases. It is dangerous to focus solely on AIDS, when tuberculosis awareness in the public and media continues to be slight, although TB alone kills nearly 2 million persons a year. The World Health Organization declared a state of global urgency to control infectious diseases, and it is our duty to take action and fight their spread. It is crucial that citizens become aware of the threat of tuberculosis in Florida, where TB rates are above the national average.
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that usually attacks the lungs.
It is the leading killer of HIV-positive individuals, causing more than 30 percent of AIDS deaths worldwide. The United States needs to realize that TB is not a disease of the past, but a current risk to international health. AIDS poses as a serious threat as the world's leading infectious killer. But we cannot become complacent about the other infectious diseases, including tuberculosis. It is time that tuberculosis is placed in the spotlight and treated as a major international health threat before it is too late.