Prevalence of Tuberculosis

Lima and Iquitos, PeruNatalie Bowman

nmb2003@columbia.edu

Tuberculosis

• Tuberculosis is one of the oldest and most deadly human diseases, and is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

• 8 million new cases and 2-3 million deaths per year, mostly in poor nations and HIV+ patients

• TB is almost always curable with correctly administered antibiotics

PRISMA

• Prisma is a Peruvian NGO that deals with health and other social issues

• For more information (in Spanish): www.prisma.org.pe

• Dr. Robert Gilman, JHU School of Public Health

Prevalence of TB infection among students in Iquitos

• Administer PPDs to students in medicine, agronomy, and forestry at UNAP to establish prevalence

• Test them again in a year to compare rates of exposure

• Also in Lima• Mountains

Tuberculosis in Lima

• Lima has very high prevalence of TB

• > 300 per 100,000 in some of the poorest neighborhoods

• Hospital Dos de Mayo—a large public hospital

How clean is the air?

• To investigate the infectivity of the air in the TB wards, put guinea pigs on the roof

• Pump all the air from the ward through the room

• Several got sick (TB and mysterious guinea pig pneumonia)

• Can be repeated after anti-TB measures to compare

Thank-yous

• Dr. Bob Gilman

• Dr. Mayuko Saito, Dr. Rod Escombe

• Prisma

• Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

• Julianna

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