World Tuberculosis Day

World Tuberculosis Day is a worldwide holiday devoted to the fight against tuberculosis. Society needs to know more about this disease in order to be able to confront it. Tuberculosis is very common (especially the pulmonary form). It is a treatable disease, but in the absence of a decent level of medicine and proper treatment, it is fatal to the person infected. The holiday is every year on March 24.

History

The history of World Tuberculosis Day is well known. The holiday was established by the WHO, an organization known to everyone, in 1993. Five years later, it was officially endorsed by the UN. This day is designed to raise public awareness of the disease and to help underdeveloped countries with low levels of medicine and life in general. It is in poor countries and areas where there are large numbers of homeless and poor families that TB poses a great danger. The person is also a threat to others because TB spreads through airborne droplets and infects new people very easily.

The date of the celebration corresponds to the event of March 24, 1882, when Robert Koch was able to discover the causative agent of this dangerous disease, later called “Koch’s bacillus.” For this medical discovery, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1905.

Interesting Facts

• Each patient, if not isolated from society, can transmit the pathogen to an average of 12 people.
• Every day 30,000 new cases of infection are recorded around the world, and more than 4,000 people die.
• Anyone can get TB, and the risk of infection increases if the person leads an antisocial lifestyle, has bad habits, or eats poorly.

How to Celebrate

Get checkups at the clinic to make sure your lungs are healthy. Learn more about tuberculosis on this day. Help raise money for the treatment of underprivileged children who cannot afford full therapy at the clinic.

Spread the word on social media. Let more people know about it!

When is World Tuberculosis Day in 2025?

World Tuberculosis Day is observed annually on March 24.

Observations