Warnings over the return of the White Death and Why Tuberculosis Matters to Bu

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Warnings over the return of the " White Death "

The emergence of the first case of Extremely Drug Resistant

Tuberculosis (XDR TB) in the UK comes amid warnings that the

particularly difficult-to-treat strain could travel with ease around

the world thanks to international travel...

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urn_of_the_White_Death.php

Why Tuberculosis Matters to Businesses

A look at a new report by the World Economic Forum and Harvard School

of Public Health 2008-03-19 17:34 (KST)

On the face of it, tuberculosis (TB) and the business of making money

have absolutely no link, but ill health caused by TB does affect

productivity and profits, according to a new report from the World

Economic Forum (WEF) in conjunction with the Harvard School of Public

Health.

TB is increasingly being recognized as major public health problem, on

the rise in many parts of the world, especially sub Saharan Africa.

Over the last 25 years, TB has re-emerged, and the disease's link to

HIV is considered to be at epidemic proportions.

The private sector is now awakening to the fact that better health

leads to improved economic development, and is therefore taking a keen

interest in addressing worker health-related issues.

" TB robs companies of valuable employees. When employees fall sick

with TB, they may transmit the disease to fellow workers and may miss

several months on the job if they fail to receive treatment. All of

this severely affects business, " says Marcos Espinal, Executive

Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership in the preface to the report

titled Tackling Tuberculosis: The Business Response (PDF).

The report was commissioned as an in-depth study of what businesses in

the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative are doing to

combat AIDS and TB in the workplace with the objective to expand such

initiatives.

" Businesses bring creativity and innovation to the AIDS response; they

have specific skills and expertise in key areas such as management,

media, logistics and finance which make them a valued partner in the

response to the epidemic. The Business Coalitions help to ensure that

the response is coordinated and that knowledge and expertise is shared

across the board, " said Piot, Executive Director, Joint United

Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). " I hope this report will

encourage more companies to join an existing coalition or create the

impetus to establish a new one. "

Despite the fact that TB is preventable and curable, its association

with AIDS, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa makes affected people

reluctant to take up treatment. In fact, the close link between TB and

HIV poses a twin threat in that region.

The stigma associated with TB is a key challenge contributing to the

explosion of the disease.

According to the report, businesses in areas where TB is widespread

are the most likely to suffer.

" If the disease takes hold in a company, it can spread from worker to

worker, particularly if there is prolonged contact between employees

with TB disease and those that are uninfected, " says the report.

Nearly one-third of over 11,000 business executives interviewed said

that they expected TB to affect their business in the next five years,

with executives in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe most

concerned.

Besides threats of increasing numbers of TB/HIV co-infection, the

business sector is also affected by the growing concern of

drug-resistant TB.

" The situation is ... challenged by the growing concern of multi-drug

resistant (MDR) and extreme drug resistant (XDR) TB, inadequate health

care systems as well as redundant tools, " says Samans,

Managing Director of the World Economic Forum in a foreword to the report.

" Although the disease can be transmitted in workplaces, workforces

offer a ready audience for TB educational campaigns. Businesses have

many skills that can help tackle health problems. There is strong

potential, therefore, for them to help in the fight against TB, " he adds.

In many parts of the world, the fight against TB has been hampered by

the lack of resources and technological innovations to improve TB

diagnostic tools.

Given the gravity of the problem, it is in the interest of the private

sector especially in the most TB affected regions to make serious

investments in efforts to fight the disease.

" Businesses can benefit from improved health through reduced costs and

absenteeism, increased labor productivity, and lower recruitment and

training costs, as fewer workers retire or leave for health reasons, "

says the report.

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