On this day, March 24, in 1882, Robert Koch announced his discovery of mycobacterium tuberculosis in his presentation titled “Die Aetiologie der Tuberculose” at the Berlin Physiological Society conference.
Despite having been discovered over a century ago, too many people in the U.S. still suffer from tuberculosis, so efforts to improve awareness, testing, and treatment of latent TB infection and TB disease among groups at high risk are critical to eliminating TB in the U.S. This is especially pertinent in San Diego County, given that County TB cases have increased back to pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, more than 240 individuals experienced TB disease in San Diego County.
At least 2 million Californians have latent TB infection, and most are unaware of it! Most people living with latent TB infection in California were born outside of the United States where TB is more common. When left untreated, latent TB infection can progress to active TB disease at any time. In fact, one out of every six Californians diagnosed with TB disease dies within five years. Fortunately, latent TB infection can be found and treated before people get sick with TB disease, and some people are at higher risk for TB than others. Know your risk, know your status, and get treated to keep you and those around you safe.
The American Pacific Health Foundation is proud to join the county of San Diego in proclaiming that: Yes! We CAN end TB. As part of World TB Day, we have created an interactive, educational activity to help immerse you in the perspective of a patient with tuberculosis here in San Diego. Whether you have plenty of TB knowledge or none at all, please take a moment to delve into their stories through APHF's interactive TB: "Choose Your Story" activity.
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