TB Treatment May Leave Some Patients Contagious

Jack Kochansky

AP Biology EF Even

Mr. Ippolito

10 April 2018

TB Treatment May Leave Some Patients Contagious

By Emily Baumgaertner

Baumgaertner, Emily. “TB Treatment May Leave Some Patients Contagious.” The New York

Times, The New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/health/tuberculosis-treatment-hiv.html.

Even as our medical technological capabilities have advanced dramatically in the last few years, there remain many diseases that continue to plague less developed regions of the world.  As New York Times Global Health writer Emily Baumgaertner points out in her article TB Treatment May Leave Some Patients Contagious, tuberculosis is a severe example of a disease that is still prevalent and deadly today.  She begins the article by discussing the status of the disease today, explaining that even with antibiotics in use, “TB, now the leading infectious killer worldwide, takes over 1.5 million lives per year.”  Despite the fact that some medical facilities in Africa have the treatment drugs, rifampicin and isoniazid, it does not always save the patients or prevent new infections. In particular, Baumgaertner focuses on a study conducted by Swiss and Ugandan researchers on a group of 270 patients who were suffering from both HIV and tuberculosis.  With weakened immune systems, these people have a very difficult time fighting off the disease and are especially at risk of spreading it to those around them. The study found that within the group examined, 8 in 10 patients did not have adequate levels of the antibiotics to combat TB. Researchers found this to be shocking -- for a significant group of people, the decades-old treatment does not seem to be enough.  “This study provides one piece of a larger puzzle, and it’s necessary that we have another look,” says Dr. Karin Weyer of the W.H.O. It is expected that studies like this one will lead to more research into the effects and treatments plans for TB, which continues to grow despite the W.H.O’s goal of eradicating the disease by 2035.

Studies such as this one are essential for maintaining global health and preventing dangerous outbreaks of deadly diseases, of which tuberculosis is one.  Even though we currently have some treatments for it, they are often ineffective, especially as TB continues to rapidly evolve and attack the weakest members of communities globally.  For the well-being of everyone, we first need to protect those of us most susceptible to infection. Even though we scarcely hear about tuberculosis in the news, it is the world’s deadliest disease.  Therefore, finding a way to cure it or completely rid the population of it would be a huge achievement. Not only is TB a serious health concern today, the current situation highlights some intrinsic problems with our health system.  For diseases prevalent in the US, companies have developed many drugs to treat even the smallest of concerns -- they are driven by profit margins. In poorer countries like those in Africa, however, people do not have the same capability to pay for treatments, but they are the most at risk.  As a result, few have dedicated any real research into tuberculosis treatments. Those who need care the most receive it the least.

This New York Times article was very well written.  Baumgaertner chose a very relevant topic to write about, especially as this little-known disease continues to devastate communities around the globe.  She effectively summarizes the problem that many patients are facing and explains that market forces, rather than scientific research, are what have really had an impact on dosages in the past.  However, there are a few places that the author could have strengthened the article. For example, while Baumgaertner quotes two medical professionals familiar with tuberculosis, she does not include the names of or any quotes from the researchers involved in this breakthrough study.  Though she does mention that they are Swiss and Ugandan scientists, it would have been even better if she had included more detail to lend some more credibility. In general, however, this article is very well-written and addresses an issue that deserves a lot more attention than it is receiving today.