La lotta al bacillo di Koch, battistrada del servizio sanitario pubblico

Experts at the World Health Organisation are worried by the emergency of forms of tuberculosis that are resistant to treatment, and which therefore have a very high mortality rate. The World TB Day has drawn attention back to the “white death”. After the efforts made in European countries throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it seemed that the disease had been eradicated. Moreover, the idea of a public health service came about following the promulgation of special laws, the creation of local consortia for preventing and curing the disease, and the construction of TB sanatoriums. Today, however, with 8.8 million cases and 1.6 million deaths around the world, the disease is remerging, in Africa and South East Asia particularly; while cases have also been found in developed countries, including Italy.

Key words: Tuberculosis; Drug resistance