Tuberculosis is still a global health threat

Saturday was World Tuberculosis Day. Many Americans are too young to remember when tuberculosis (TB) was the most feared disease in the country. For this we can thank a group of doctors and concerned citizens who, in 1904, founded an organization to eradicate the disease. That organization - which would later become the American Lung Association - spearheaded a public health and research campaign that resulted in TB being largely controlled in the United States.

While great strides have been made, TB is still a global health threat that infects one-third of the world's population and takes 1.4 million lives a year. Even in the United States, the decline in TB has slowed and strains of drug-resistant TB have emerged and spread.

TB eradication is still an important part of our mission. Thanks to the educators, researchers and caregivers who are marching with us toward a day when TB can finally be a forgotten scourge.

Micki Sandquist

American Lung Association

Des Moines