Culture and disease

Rachel M.

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Culture and disease

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Abstract

Tuberculosis is considered to be one of the leading causes of death for one third of the world's population. South-East Asia and the Pacific region are one of the areas affected most by tuberculosis infections. According to the World Health Organization, 95% of tuberculosis cases reported occur in the countries of India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand (AsiaNews, 2005). India itself accounts for one-fifth of global Tuberculosis cases (WHO/India, 2009).

Introduction
TB infection within India
Biological factors specific to the Indian population
Growth of the Indian population
Two of the world's largest metropolitan areas
The poor standard of living
High rates of HIV in India
Controling tuberculosis
Conclusion
References

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[...] RNTCP assists medical units throughout India by helping with quality screenings, providing access to higher quantities of medicine effective in treating tuberculosis, educating Indian citizens on the symptoms and methods of transmission of the disease, providing technical support to research centers, data management, and financial support. Initiatives to educate citizens about HIV infection risk factors are also supported by the RNTCP (WHO/India, 2009). References Adlakha, A. (1997, April). Population Trends: India. Retrieved November from Census.gov: http://www.census.gov/ipc/prod/ib-9701.pdf AsiaNews. (2005, March 23). [...]

[...] India boasts sixteen official languages, five major religions, and a rigid caste system. Two of the world's largest metropolitan areas are located in India, Mumbai, with a population of over 16 million people, and Calcutta, with a population of over 12 million people (Rosenberg, 1997). The extremely high number of people and the wide diversity within India results in chaotic living conditions for the country's population. According to the United Nation's Human Development Index, the living conditions in India are rated the third worst in all of Asia (Rosenberg, 1997). [...]

[...] However, in the case of a weakened immune system, due to lowered standards of health or immune deficiency, the tuberculosis virus will reproduce and spread throughout the lungs and body (Shiffman, 2009). It can take months for a person infected with TB to show symptoms. When symptoms appear, the first associated with an active TB infection are a general tiredness, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats (Shiffman, 2009). Advanced symptoms include coughing with blood or sputum (material from the lungs) present, chest pain and shortness of breath (Shiffman, 2009). [...]

[...] Studies show high risk populations, such as commercial sex workers, intravenous drug users, and sexually transmitted disease patients, are mostly to blame for the high rate of HIV infection, that exceeded 50% in some areas of the country in 1996 (Adlakha, 1997). Though HIV transforms into the fatal virus AIDS, tuberculosis is the leading cause of death for HIV patients in India (Bates V4 This is due to the increased vulnerability of HIV infected patients resulting from a lowered immune system and high susceptibility to disease. [...]

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