Review article

https://doi.org/10.46419/vs.51.6.9

History of tuberculosis: prevalence of tuberculosis (Part III)

Cvetnić Željko ; Croatian Veterinary Institute - Regional Department Križevci, Križevci, Croatia

Abstract

Throughout history, there have been numerous theories about the origin and spread of tuberculosis. It is assumed that M. tuberculosis has killed more people in human history than any other pathogenic microorganism. Tuberculosis has been a companion of the human race since prehistoric times. There is substantial archaeological evidence of tuberculosis from countries across Europe in the centuries since the fall of the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages, records of tuberculosis became less frequent, though it did not disappear. During the 16th and 17th centuries, tuberculosis was responsible for almost 20% of all deaths. Mortality is believed to have risen during the mid- and late 18th and 19th century, and then began to decline. At the beginning of the 19th century, the industrial revolution and the large migration of people looking for work from rural areas to towns exacerbated the situation, contributing to spread of the disease. The consequences of the First and Second World Wars in the 20th century caused a remarkable spread of tuberculosis. In the mid-20th century, the first anti-tuberculosis drugs were discovered, followed by many others, thus beginning a new era of treatment and suppression of tuberculosis. These new treatments of tuberculosis, together with BCG vaccination, reduced tuberculosis deaths in the Western world by nearly 90%. Tuberculosis occurs worldwide and remains the leading cause of adult mortality and ranks among the 10 leading causes of death in the world, and every year about 10 million people contract the disease, more than 1.5 million die, and about 0.5 million are resistant to the first line of anti-tuberculosis drugs. It is estimated that one-fourth (approximately 2 billion) of the global population is infected with the tuberculosis bacterium, and approximately 5 to 15% of these people will fall ill and develop active tuberculosis. The new era of global tuberculosis monitoring within the World Health Organisation programme “The End of TB Strategy” contains a vision of a world without tuberculosis, with a vision of ending the epidemic outbreak of tuberculosis by 2035.

Keywords

tuberculosis; history; prevalence

Hrčak ID:

243851

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/243851

Publication date:

1.10.2020.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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