- Home
- GSK in focus
- The white plague
The white plague
Tuberculosis (TB) was once thought to be a disease of the past, but it has returned in a big way, killing someone every 15 seconds.
The return of the ‘white plague’, so-called because of the loss of skin colour experienced by people with the disease, is highlighted every year on 24 March, World Tuberculosis Day.
This day commemorates the date of the discovery in 1882 by the German scientist Robert Koch of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). But more importantly, it is a day when awareness of TB, its causes and effects are brought to the world’s attention by the Stop TB Partnership.
The statistics are horrifying enough on their own: every second someone is newly infected with TB and overall, one third of the world’s population is infected with it.
The impact of TB is so significant that the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified it, along with HIV/AIDS and malaria, as a “priority disease”.
The fatal cough
Caused by a bacterium and often called ‘the consumption’ after the way it caused its victims to waste away, TB can be present in someone for many years without them actually knowing it. Latent infection however can become full-blown if a person’s immune system becomes weakened by conditions such as HIV.
It can be spread from person to person through coughs and sneezing and spitting. The lungs are the most common organ infected by TB, with the sufferer having a persistent “dry” cough, weakness and chest pains.
TB is a disease with a long heritage. Accounts of TB-like illness are found in the writings of ancient Egyptians and in the 19th and preceding centuries, TB was often seen as a disease of artists and creative people.
Certainly many famous people suffered from the complaint: Chopin, Robert Louis Stevenson, the Bronte sisters, Sir Walter Scott, to name a few. The pale appearance of sufferers was considered to indicate an artistic sensitivity.
But with the onset of the 20th century, changes in living conditions and the discovery of the medicine streptomycin and the BCG vaccine looked like they would eliminate the disease, at least in most developed western countries. Sadly, this victory cry was premature.
New TB strains appeared and developed a resistance to previously-effective treatments. In some countries, funds were diverted to treat other public health problems and the emergence of HIV/AIDS left people vulnerable to conditions such as TB.
Also, increased poverty, homelessness, travel and migration have increased the exposure of people to TB resulting in WHO declaring TB a ‘global health emergency’ in 1993.
Responding to the crisis
The limitations of current TB therapies are well-known. Patients with TB need a daily cocktail of drugs for up to six months. Shorter courses of better therapies are desperately needed.
In response, the Stop TB Partnership was established in 2000 to realise the ambitious goal of eliminating TB as a public health problem by 2015.
It comprises a network of more than 400 partners including international organisations, countries, donors from the public and private sectors, governmental and non-governmental organisations and individuals that have come together to eliminate TB.
The Partnership’s 2006-2015 plan was launched in January 2006 with high profile names such as Microsoft President, Bill Gates, and the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, lending support to the partnership’s goals.
To complement the work of the Stop TB Partnership, GSK has partnered with the non-profit Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) to discover new treatments for TB. Some of the potential medicines that come out of these efforts may also be effective in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
GSK’s Diseases of the Developing World team at Tres Cantos in Spain is leading the company’s efforts to find new treatments for TB and screen the company’s existing library of potential medicines for activity against the bacterium that causes TB.
In partnership with Stellenbosch University in South Africa, GSK is also funding a programme to help to identify so-called “biomarkers” in people who may respond to specific treatments. Such biomarkers can be used to predict whether or not patients will respond quickly to treatment or if TB is likely to recur.
As with many diseases, the best approach to preventing TB is through a vaccination programme to combat the disease. GSK is also developing such a vaccine as part of its commitment to tackling diseases of the developing world.
