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Tuberculosis- Another Serious Problem

Tuberculosis, another serious disease treated on the island, is a bacterial infection which causes the destruction of lung tissue; it is spread from person to person by airborne means.

The disease can be vaccinated against and the vaccine is highly effective. However, again due to the costs of vaccination programs – many people are not immunized against tuberculosis even today. People who smoke or who have HIV are particularly at risk of become infected with tuberculosis. The disease can be treated through the use of antibiotics but there are growing numbers of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis and in 2014 nearly 10 million people contracted tuberculosis and nearly 1.5 million people died of it.