Tuberculosis: An Epidemic of Poverty
Grand Canyon University
Author Note
A module 2 requirement for the course “Concepts in Community and Public Health.”
Tuberculosis: An Epidemic of Poverty Poverty is a globally pervasive socio-economic issue which not only exists in the lesser developed countries, but in first world countries such as the United States of America, and as such, it predisposes these marginalized and underserved communities to certain diseases, which includes Tuberculosis, since TB thrives in areas with poor sanitary conditions, populations that are undernourished, and develops drug resistance if treatments are mismanaged, and all of these factors are found in communities that lack proper sanitation and garbage disposal, environmental pollution, and poor health care delivery systems through lack of funding and resources. (Maurer and Smith, 2009)
What is Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is a globally widespread disease and is second only to HIV with the greatest mortality rate caused by a single infectious agent in the world. It has a mortality rate of 66% if not treated properly, and in 2012, out of the 8.6 million people that acquired tuberculosis, 1.3 million succumbed to the disease. Out of these deaths, 95% occurred in low to middle income countries, further strengthening the link between the disease and socio-economic status. Most of the new cases of tuberculosis also come from less developed regions of the world, 60% of which came from Asia. Tuberculosis cases are in decline, although in some countries, it is very gradual. The TB death rate has also seen a dramatic drop of 45% between 1990 and 2012. (WHO, 2014)

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
The infective agent of Tuberculosis is a bacteria called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis or MTB, is a rod shaped bacteria that was discovered by Dr. Robert Koch in 1882, hence it is also known as Koch’s