The theme of World TB Day 2021 is "The Clock is Ticking" because the world is running out of time to act on global commitments to end Tuberculosis (TB), according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Tuberculosis is one of the world's deadly diseases. Each day, nearly 4,000 people lose their lives to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, global attention to TB has waned.

"The COVID-19 pandemic and the collective responses to it has caused a disruption of TB prevention and treatment services globally, threatening to derail the progress that has been made to date," says Dr. Zelalem Temesgen, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Tuberculosis.

"COVID-19 has rightly been in the spotlight over the last year as a catastrophic infectious disease, but that doesn't mean we can take our focus off of other infectious diseases like tuberculosis," adds Dr. Temesgen. "Alternatively, it also has highlighted, perhaps as has never been done before, the importance of public health."

Dr. Stacey Rizza, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert and executive medical director for Mayo Clinic International, says TB is a deadly public health crisis that knows no borders. She says there are still too many people affected by this disease. "It's estimated that 25 percent of the world's population is infected with TB," says Dr. Rizza.

Watch: Dr. Rizza speaks about TB in this public education message.

Journalists: Broadcast quality video of Dr. Rizza's public education message is in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network."

Dr. Temesgen and Dr. Rizza encourage people to rely on trusted resources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO and Mayo Clinic's Center for Tuberculosis. All are good places to learn about TB worldwide.

Related News Network posts:

• Expert Alert: Precision medicine, digital technology hold potential as powerful tools against tuberculosis
  JOURNALISTS: To request an interview with Dr. Temesgen, contact Sharon Theimer in Mayo Clinic Media Relations at newsbureau@mayo.edu.

The post World TB Day: Tuberculosis remains a deadly disease worldwide appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The amount of sleep adults need varies with age, but for most it's seven to eight hours per night. Many don't get that much, and that can have serious consequences. On Mayo Clinic Radio, sleep medicine specialist Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler explains why getting adequate sleep is so important for good health. Also, infectious disease specialist Dr. Stacey Rizza has an update on tuberculosis (TB). March 24 is World TB Day. And, pathologist Dr. Bobbi Pritt has the latest on a new bacterium that causes Lyme disease and how to protect against it.

The post In Case You Missed the Show: #MayoClinicRadio Podcast, March 19, 2016 appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Myth or Matter-of-Fact: The most restorative, restful sleep usually occurs between 3 and 7 a.m.

Listen to the program on Saturday, March 19, at 9:05 a.m. CDT and follow #MayoClinicRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Access archived shows.

Mayo Clinic Radio is a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Getting Enough Sleep / Tuberculosis Update / New Lyme Disease Bacterium appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Myth or Matter-of-Fact: The most restorative, restful sleep usually occurs between 3 and 7 a.m.

Listen to the program on Saturday, March 19, at 9:05 a.m. CDT.

Miss the show?  Here's the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

Follow #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio is a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

Access archived shows.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Getting Enough Sleep / Tuberculosis Update / New Lyme Disease Bacterium appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.