MÁLAGA – Despite what people think, tuberculosis in Europe and Spain is not a thing of the past. Andalusia has nearly 364,000 residents living in deprived areas where the incidence of this infectious disease exceeds the low endemic threshold of 40 cases per 100,000 population set by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the latest WHO tuberculosis report, two of those areas where the number of cases of tuberculosis has increased the most are in the province of Málaga, in Álora and the north of Torremolinos.
Both Álora and Torremolinos North are among the 27 areas in Andalusia with a high incidence (40+) of tuberculosis and where it exceeds the WHO threshold. As previously written, Álora is at number 17 with 58.28 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the northern area of Torremolinos it is 41.84 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, good for 27th place on the list.
However, in Andalusia there are areas where the incidence of tuberculosis is even higher as in Alto de la Mesa (Huelva) with 182, El Ejido Centro (Almería) with 133, Venta del Viso (Almería) with 118 and a total of 16 other areas spread over Andalusia. In total, this concerns 27 areas where the tuberculosis incidence in Andalusia is above 40 (see table and map at the bottom of this article).
Nearly 10 million sick
Tuberculosis Contrary to popular belief, this has not yet been eradicated and many cases still occur in Europe and Spain. At least 1.5 million people worldwide died of tuberculosis in 2020, making it the thirteenth leading cause of death worldwide. It is estimated that a total of 9.9 million people will become ill with tuberculosis in 2020, including 5.5 million men, 3.3 million women and 1.1 million children. Tuberculosis occurs in all countries and age groups, but it is curable and preventable.
What is tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis or TB (popularly also called tering) is a serious, sometimes contagious bacterial infectious disease, usually caused by the tubercle bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium was discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch. Tuberculosis can now usually be treated well by using several suitable antibiotics at the same time. The most common form of tuberculosis among humans is pulmonary tuberculosis. Globally, the mortality from tuberculosis is approximately equal to that from traffic accidents.