United States: A 10% increase in tuberculosis-related infections was reported by WHO on Monday after the disease spread further throughout European children and demands immediate public health action. 

WHO statistics for their European region indicate that more than 7,500 children under 15 years of age developed Tuberculosis in 2023 compared to a previous year’s total of 7,850 cases. 

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“The worrying rise in children with TB serves as a reminder that progress against this preventable and curable disease remains fragile,” as stated Hans Henri Kluge, WHO’s Regional Director for Europe. 

Regional TB advisor Askar Yedilbayev from the WHO European region stated in an interview that the increased number of total cases might represent better diagnostic capabilities, Reuters reported. 

Higher movement between Russia and Ukraine during wartime has amplified the tuberculosis burden in these two nations with the largest disease rates in the area. 

Rising cases among the children 

TB cases among children under 15 years old composed 4.3% of total infections as established by the joint WHO-European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report concerning the European Union. 

Yedilbayev emphasized the “worrisome scenario” regarding this data because the teenage population has shown a continuous upward trend in TB cases in the previous three years. 

WHO warned that international donor reductions in support would eliminate the progress made toward controlling TB infections in developing nations. 

WHO asserts that reducing funding diminishes non-EU country TB programs, resulting in the emergence of hard-to-treat bacteriological strains, Reuters reported. 

The decrease in resources has resulted in workforce reductions within the local diagnostic and treatment teams, according to Yedilbayev. 

United States: Since its detection in North America late in 2021, Bird flu has destroyed poultry and dairy facilities while dramatically increasing the US egg prices. 

Bird flu has infected over 170 species of North American wild birds, including ducks, geese, gulls, owls, eagles, and other species. 

Experts recommend that safety measures be taken when dealing with sick or dead wild birds. 

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The presence of bird feeders remains permitted even as the bird flu situation develops. 

Scientists confirm that low risk currently exists for general human populations despite bird flu transmissions across wild species and various birds, AP News reported. 

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Since the virus started spreading, the US Agriculture Department (USDA) has confirmed the presence of bird flu in more than 12,000 individual birds. 

The federal disease monitoring figures represent only “a gross underestimate” because scientists never analyze almost all bird carcasses through testing, according to Bryan Richards, who leads the US Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Moreover, dabbling ducks, like mallards and blue-winged teal, can carry the virus with few symptoms because “these viruses co-evolved in waterfowl,” added Richards. 

Bird Flu Crisis Escalates 

The virus also spreads through feces and saliva from ducks, which causes disease transmission to additional birds or mammals, including foxes. 

Large bird populations gathered in flocks, such as goose colonies, experience the highest deaths if they lack intrinsic virus resistance. 

The outbreak of bird flu infected between 15,000 to 25,000 eared grebes near the Great Salt Lake, as reported by Utah state wildlife officials during the initial weeks of February. 

The practice of seabirds roosting together in big numbers leads to high impacts during outbreaks, AP News reported. 

According to Michael J. Parr of the American Bird Conservancy, songbirds like Northern cardinals and blue jays, alongside chickadees, may become infected and die, although their populations seem to survive better because birds do not cluster in big groups, enabling virus transmission. 

United States: Woodbridge Township high school authorities have revealed that one of their students is infected with tuberculosis in a message sent to education community members. 

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The Colonia High School Principal Christopher Chieral stated, “At this time, the student is being treated and is doing well,” in a letter dated March 14. 

The school officials are making efforts along with the Middlesex County Office of Health Services to reveal students and staff who might have been exposed to the student. The letter added that anyone who is identified as a “close contact” would be screened for the disease. 

About the disease 

Proper treatment becomes critical for survival from the bacterial illness of tuberculosis. The county health services refused to provide any statement at that time, gothamist.com reported. 

A positive tuberculosis case occurs at a time when the United States and New Jersey have been facing growing tuberculosis diagnoses since 2020. 

Most states showed rising tuberculosis case counts during 2023 based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Shocking stats revealed by the CDC 

CDC reports show that New Jersey experienced an 18.7% rise in tuberculosis diagnoses, which brought the total cases from 289 to 343 in 2023. 

New Jersey maintains a tuberculosis case rate of 3.7 per 100,000 people, which exceeds the national average for 2023. 

According to CDC data, 8.3 tuberculosis cases per 100,000 persons appeared in New York City at this time, gothamist.com reported. 

The figures indicate that New York, outside of the city, had 1.9 tubercular cases for every 100,000 people during that time frame. 

The primary site of tuberculosis infection is the lungs, although the bacterium causes damage across various body organs, which include kidneys, liver, heart, bones, joints, and blood vessels. 

An individual can contract TB after an infected patient coughs sneezes, or spits through airborne transmission.