TB Treatment May Leave Some Patients Contagious

Ellie Parson

Mr.Ippolito

AP Biology

April 11 2018

Citations:

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?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront.

Comment:

Tuberculosis, or TB, is a disease that is caused by a bacteria. It affects the lungs and causes some to cough up blood, lose weight, and have pain in their chest. New York Times author Emily Baumgaertner focuses on a possible treatment for TB in her article “TB Treatment May Leave Some Patients Contagious.” In her article, Baumgaertner discusses the issue of TB patients who also have H.I.V., and in turn hardly respond to TB medications at their current dosages. The bacterial disease kills “over 1.5 million lives per year,” and although there is treatment, it can last more than 6 months (Baumgaertner, 1). For close to 50 years, the two most common drugs used against TB are isoniazid and rifampicin, and both have been administered in a small dosage. However, scientists whose studies were published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal found that a higher dosage “may kill the deadly mycobacteria faster, curbing transmission” (Baumgaertner, 1). Some scientists, such as Dr. Melvin Spigelman,  can understand why such a dosage change is required for some people to recover faster, and noted that the cost of the drug was what determined its average dosage amounts- not science. The Swiss and Ugandan scientists responsible for the new research decided to center their experiment mostly on people who have both TB and H.I.V., which can decrease the quantity of medication absorbed by the body and the bloodstream. In their experiment, sick patients were given the regular dosage of TB treatment drugs, but to scientists dismay the concentrations in their blood were completely different- “84 percent of the participants had substandard levels of isoniazid, and 78 percent fell below targets for rifampicin”(Baumgaertner, 1). Those who suffered these effects carried TB with them for longer, spreading it around through contact. W.H.O. is an organization whose goal is to eliminate TB deaths from the human population, but their dreams cannot be reached without proper treatment for people with H.I.V. Dr. Karin Weyer, an expert of TB in the organization, claimed that this study was one small part of the larger studies that need to be done in order to eradicate TB. In addition to this research, drug companies must begin trying to develop their TB medications to match every single patient who has TB.

In terms of how this relates to society, the fact that TB still exists is perplexing. The disease could be eradicated if proper medications were administered all over the world, and if such as simple thing such as portion sizes of those medications were adjusted for certain people with other illnesses. 1.5 million lives per year out of societies and families takes a toll on not only their loved ones, but on how the world functions. In societies like Bronxville where TB is not an apparent issue, people should still be concerned and willing to participate any way they can in the movement to fully end TB. This disease is completely preventable is enough research and effort can be devoted to the cause, and given that researchers have enough money, it may no longer be a problem for countries like Uganda where people still suffer from TB. Given that TB is caused by a bacteria and is not a type of genetic mutation, it can be easily cured. Although the process of treatment may be tolling on patients, it is not incurable- the only thing standing in the way of curing people with TB is the amount of research done. Just because TB epidemics are in countries we have not seen, or the sufferers of TB are commonly in poorer countries, it does not mean we can forget about them.

Baumgaertner had both strengths and weaknesses in her article. In her article, she successfully provided both qualitative and quantitative evidence found by the research. For example, TB takes over 1.5 million lives, and medications to prevent TB are not fully absorbed through the bloodstream as a result of H.I.V. This information helps readers not only feel involved and help them gain a better understanding of the experiment, but it also allows shows that the research is supported by evidence and is therefore valid. Another strength is the incorporation of different scientists opinions on the findings, which added dimension to the article. Some areas of improvement include the lack of information about where TB is an issue. It is not mentioned where TB is most prominent in the world, and therefore students may not understand why not much research has been done it the disease. A solution would be to include a sentence explaining that TB is most common in poorer countries and therefore wealthy countries do not feel as compelled to find a better cure for the disease as it does not affect them. Another issue can be found in the fact that a large portion of the article consisted of quotes instead of original writing. A solution to this would be to write out explanations of the quotes instead of simply stating them.