Child tuberculosis has grown into a 'silent epidemic' as 90 percent of children ill with TB are left untreated worldwide, a new report released in Geneva says.
The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) published the report Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly, calling for urgent action to protect children from tuberculosis. Worldwide, one million children under the age of 15 develop TB and 239,000-nearly one in four-die annually.
Yet most of these deaths are treatable and preventable with simple, cost-effective public health measures. "This massive toll of deaths among children results from systematic disregard for children's rights to health," according to the report titled "Silent Epidemic: A Call to Action Against Child Tuberculosis".
"Children with TB rarely die when they receive standard treatment for the disease, but 90 percent of children sick with TB worldwide are left untreated," said Dr Paula I Fujiwara, scientific director of The Union.
"This neglect can no longer be excused on grounds of economy or expediency. TB is preventable, treatable, and curable. The continuing medical neglect of child TB, resulting in millions of avoidable deaths, constitutes a human rights violation by any reasonable measure."
----bdnews24.com
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