2017-03-24 Fri

"Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world" –Theme 2018.

World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, designed to raise awareness regarding the global epidemic of TB and efforts to eliminate it. Responsible for killing millions every year with malnourished children getting it most, this disease is mainly prominent in the Third World countries (60%) with India leading it. It is one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).

TB caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs, but can also later attack other parts of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB becomes sick; two TB-related conditions exist latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB can be fatal.

In 1882, when TB was raging across through Europe and America, with one in every seven people dying, Dr. Robert Koch astounded the world by announcing that he had discovered the cause of TB, the TB bacillus on March 24th.

In 1982, on the 100th anniversary of this event, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) proposed March 24th be proclaimed as World Tuberculosis Day; this proposal was accepted a decade later. In 1997, this day was celebrated for the first time.

BPost (Belgian Post) issued this 4+2 Belgian Franc Anti-Tuberculosis Work: X-Ray Examination stamp on 17th December 1956.