Kenya will on Friday join the rest of the world in marking World Tuberculosis (TB) Day.
The day is commemorated every year on March 24 and is designed to build public awareness about the disease.
The event will be presided over by the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Health CS Susan Wafula and will be marked at Huruma Grounds, Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County.
This year’s global World TB Day theme is Yes! We can end TB and it calls for togetherness in the fight against the disease.
It commemorates the day when Dr Robert Koch in 1882 announced his discovery of the cause of Tuberculosis - the TB bacillus (Mycobacterium tuberculosis).
At the time of Koch’s announcement, TB was responsible for the death of one out of every seven people in Europe and America.
Koch’s discovery opened the way for diagnosing, treating, and curing TB.
Today, TB remains an epidemic in most parts of the world, causing the deaths of nearly 1.5 million people each year, mostly in developing countries.
TB is still a major public health problem globally with WHO ranking Kenya among the high-burden TB countries.
Others expected during the event include Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii, Health PS Josephine Mburu, USAID Kenya Deputy Mission Director Bert Ubamadu, WHO Country Representative Diallo Abdourahmane and Stephen Mule from the Parliamentary TB Caucus.
Tuberculosis is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs.
The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from person to person through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes.
