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World Tuberculosis Day: Why Indonesia badly needs 'anti-poverty drug'
Who should be blamed for Indonesia being ranked second in tuberculosis (TB) incidence worldwide?
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Despite it being 135 years since Robert Koch announced Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the cause of TB the spread of the disease remains unabated. The current situation is quite similar to the age before Koch’s discovery. (Shutterstock/File)
W
ho should be blamed for Indonesia being ranked second in tuberculosis (TB) incidence worldwide? Despite the achievement toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, the declining incidence of TB has shown a slowing pace. And, the question remains: will we achieve the target for zero TB incidences in 2035?
Despite it being 135 years since Robert Koch announced Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the cause of TB the spread of the disease remains unabated. The current situation is quite similar to the age before Koch’s discovery.
People at that time blamed poverty and crowded, congested housing, particularly in cities. They depicted the relationship between TB and poverty beyond scientific discussion by putting it into literature and drama. The term “consumption” arose in literature, such as Les Miserables, to describe how the disease spread among the poor.
Current scientific findings tend to reinforce what we have already known for centuries, and define TB as a “social disease” that demands measures in the socio-economic perspective.
Describing TB as a “social disease” is neither to blame poverty as the only determinant of TB spread, nor to reframe negative stigma in the community.
However, the problem is apparent. TB and household finances have a reciprocal relationship. Poverty creates the risk of TB infection and risks hampered access to healthcare services resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment.
Poverty also increases the risk of not adhering to treatment because of high non-medical costs.
