STOPPING TUBERCULOSIS (TB) IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY

By Rachel C. Orduño, Border TB PhotoVoice Participant 

On March 24, 2008 – World TB Day – health activists around the globe will spread the message “I am stopping TB…and so can you.” As a tuberculosis survivor, it is a mission I take to heart and a message I feel compelled to take to the streets.

According to the World Health Organization, one third of the Earth’s population is infected with this contagious disease and is at risk for developing active TB. Left untreated, TB can be fatal. It is a worldwide epidemic that knows no borders. Anyone breathing can be infected.

At 35, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Within a year, my latent TB infection developed into the active disease. Susceptibility to TB is higher with diabetes, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, smoking and other addictions, malnourishment, and pregnancy.

For three agonizing years, I was misdiagnosed with flu, colds, allergies, respiratory infections, pneumonia, and asthma. My 3-year-old niece also suffered through surgeries to remove a recurring cyst. Only after I was correctly diagnosed, was her removed tissue tested and found positive for TB. We both started the daily medication treatment for active TB disease.

Once diagnosed, patients start the emotional ride on the TB ferris wheel of ups and downs. We are glad to identify our affliction, but are fearful of the stigma and discrimination we know we will face.

We are told that recovery will take place after a full course of treatment. That’s not always easy when jobs and life’s daily demands take priority. It’s not long before your life-saving medication becomes a daily intrusion—especially without warning that interrupting treatment increases drug resistance and furthers TB infections

My victory over TB empowered me to fight the spread of TB. I will not be silent or anonymous. I will not be dormant—like the TB infection. I will speak out on behalf of the 9 million men, women, and children who are newly diagnosed and the 2 million lives lost in 2006.  Our message must be loud and clear: TB is preventable, treatable, and curable.

Thanks to the Border TB PhotoVoice Project and Eva Moya of the US-Mexico Border Health Association, I found a vehicle for change. The power of photography helped me and 15 other El Paso-Juarez Region TB survivors to convey our many TB challenges.  Thousands have viewed this gallery internationally.

One powerful photo was my mask burning after three months of quarantine.  It symbolizes freedom, not only from feeling ostracized and physically ill, but from the ignorance that held me hostage.  I stopped feeling like a victim and started taking action.

So what can you do to stop TB? Be an advocate.  Demand consistent and accurate media coverage of TB.  Request that public officials increase funding for TB treatment and prevention. Show compassion to those affected by TB.  Fight the disease by educating yourself and others.  Learn the facts at the El Paso Department of Public Health by calling:  771-1230.

United States-Mexico Border Health Association
Tel. (915) 833-6450 ext. 15/50
www.usmbha.org