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Health & Wellness

Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the
United States and Eleanor Roosevelt,
First Lady of the United States (1933-
1945); novelists DH Lawrence, George
Orwell, Jane Austin and Emily Bronte;
and actress Vivien Leigh, who all
succumbed to TB.
Modern day survivors of TB include the
late Nelson Mandela (who contracted
TB while in prison); the late Bishop
Desmond Tutu (who had TB when he
was 15); singers/musicians Tina Turner,
Tom Jones, Ringo Starr, Cat Stevens and
local TV presenter and celebrity, Gerry
Rantselli-Eldon.

WHAT IS TB?
Unlike COVID, which is a virus, TB is
caused by a bacterium, Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. It is spread from person to
person mainly when an infected person
sneezes, coughs or spits in public and the
infected droplets suspended in the air are
Photo by CDC on Unsplash Pulmonary tuberculosis Some farm workers might also contract the
breathed in by the people around them.

disease while working with cows infected
with bovine TB, and others may pick it up if

unpasteurised dairy products.
YOU CAN SURVIVE TB they consume unpasteurised milk or other

HOW PREVALET IS THE DISEASE
BY CASEY BROWN WORLDWIDE?
According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO), in 2020 an estimated
t the turn of the 20th century, suffering from consumption – which 10 million people contracted TB and a total
tuberculosis was the leading today is known as tuberculosis (TB). of 1,5 million died from TB. Thirty countries
Acause of death in the United As opposed to the cold and damp accounted for 86% of the new TB cases,
States. In Europe, the level of TB was so conditions in Europe, the fresh air of the with 66% of the cases found in just eight
high, that many people suffering from semi-arid Karoo was thought to aid in countries – India, China, Indonesia, the
the disease moved away from the cities healing the disease but, without proper Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria
towards rural sanatoria or to what were treatment, recovery wasn’t a certainty. and South Africa. However, in our region,
perceived as the favourable climates of to a lesser extent, TB is also prevalent in
distant colonies, such as South Africa. TB DOESN’T DISCRIMINATE Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho,
The other day, a student visiting from While TB might be more commonly the Kingdom of Eswatini, Mozambique,
Holland asked me what was so special encountered in poor communities, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
about the Karoo. She had heard that her the affluent and middle classes are by
great-grandmother had come to South no means immune to the ravages of WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
Africa specifically to spend time in the the disease. One can scan across the There are two types of TB – latent TB,
Karoo, but after she returned to Holland, decades and pick up well-known names, which is not contagious, and active
she passed away. such as Kings Charles IX, Louis XVII and TB, which is contagious and, if left
I didn’t say as much, but the chances Louis XIII of France; King Edward VI of untreated, can be fatal.
are that her great-grandmother was England; Catherine I, Empress of Russia; A big problem with active TB is the

18 • Issue 4 2022 • The Villager