Boston, MA \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Unless there is a major shift in the way the world fights tuberculosis\u00e2\u20ac\u201cfrom a reliance on biomedical solutions to an approach that combines biomedical interventions with social actions\u00e2\u20ac\u201cthe epidemic and drug resistance will worsen, say researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In a new study, they call for a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153biosocial\u00e2\u20ac\u009d approach that incorporates interventions in areas such as nutrition, urban planning, occupational health, addiction recovery, and mental health services.\n<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Despite increased funding for tuberculosis programs over the past 15 years, progress has been woefully slow,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said senior author Rifat Atun, professor of global health systems. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We strongly argue that more of the same will not stop tuberculosis. The time has come for comprehensive actions to confront the root causes of tuberculosis, which lie in poverty and deprivation.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p>\n
The study will be published online October 26, 2015 in The Lancet<\/em> as part of a special series led by Salmaan Keshavjee, Harvard Medical School associate professor of global health and social medicine. The series, which includes five papers detailing a comprehensive plan to stop TB deaths, along with three commentaries that place the epidemic in context, will also be published as a book. The strategies outlined in the papers will ultimately be put into action through the Zero TB Cities Project, an initiative aimed at creating \u00e2\u20ac\u0153islands of elimination\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of the disease.\n<\/p>\n Although it has been curable and preventable since the 1950s, tuberculosis still kills more than 1.5 million people each year and drug resistant strains are an increasing threat. Social conditions including malnutrition and overcrowded housing, HIV and diabetes, smoking, and excessive consumption of alcohol continue to drive the epidemic.\n<\/p>\n Biomedical approaches alone have not achieved substantial decreases in tuberculosis burden, the authors argue. In developing countries, the benefits of improved diagnostics and treatment are offset by susceptibility to tuberculosis in at-risk populations.\n<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A biosocial approach to stopping tuberculosis will not only reduce morbidity and mortality from disease but would also alleviate poverty and help sustainable development,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Atun said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It will meet present needs for the poor and provide them and subsequent generations with an opportunity for a better future.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n Other Harvard Chan School authors included Katrina Ortblad, Joshua Salomon, and Till B\u00c3\u00a4rnighausen.\n<\/p>\n This paper was supported by the Wellcome Trust and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (1P01AG041710-01).\n<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stopping tuberculosis: a biosocial model for sustainable development,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Katrina F. Ortblad, Joshua A. Salomon, Till B\u00c3\u00a4rnighausen, Rifat Atun, The Lancet<\/em>, online October 26, 2015, doi: 10.1016\/S0140-6736(15)00324-4\n<\/p>\n Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.<\/p>\n Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lives\u00e2\u20ac\u201cnot only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s oldest professional training program in public health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Boston, MA \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Unless there is a major shift in the way the world fights tuberculosis\u00e2\u20ac\u201cfrom a reliance on biomedical solutions to an approach that combines biomedical interventions with social actions\u00e2\u20ac\u201cthe epidemic and drug resistance will worsen, say researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In a new study, they call for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26992\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}