In this blogpost we would like to adress another disease that occurs in high numbers in Souteasth Asia; Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (hereafter TB) affects nearly three million people in the Southeast Asia Region every year. Of this number, nearly one million are not detected or are not treated well. The knowledge about the condition of air pollution and its effects on health, made us wonder whether this pollution has played a role in the high numbers of TB patients.
Several studies did research on if and how air pollution could affect TB patients. The biggest damage is done by particle pollution where very small particles and liquid hang in the air which can be inhaled by a person which can harm their heart or lungs. Especially in high air polluted countries, logically, higher rates of particle pollution exists. In a study on TB and air pollution in Asia, the results came down on several consequences of which we take the two with the highest impact:
- It harms the epithelium of the airways and reduces the immune response
- Particles can penetrate through the vessel and cause inflammation
This inflammation on the already damages lungs by particle pollution reduces the lung function and gives room for active TB.
Additionally: TB is an infectious disease. Studies on the ‘China-haze’ which was a period of hazardous air pollution in China, showed that the particle pollution affected the airborne bacterial composition. Apart from this, the high rates of smokers causes the air to be hardly breathable for non-smokers, if they want to stay ‘smoke-free’ (see video below). The high level of pollution formed an easy way for transmission of bacteria and pathogens, which affected healthy people with bacteria of TB.
South East Asia 
Dear Amber, Jasmijn and Max,
Interesting blog post and blog in general! I never thought about the influence of pollution on tuberculosis. I was wondering how the number of people with tuberculosis differs over time. Did South East Africa experience a decrease in the prevalence of TB, and are there differences between countries in the prevalence? If there are differences in prevalence over time and between countries, can this be also related to pollution? (For example that in regions with less pollution, the prevalence of TB is also lower). I am looking forward to more blog posts to learn more about this topic.
Have a nice weekend!
Kind Regards,
Imke Hottentot
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I like how you explain all the different ways in which TB can be caused by air pollution (so by less functional lungs but also by easier transmission of airborne bacteria). Since there is not a lot of TB in more developed regions, such as Europe,I wonder how air pollution compares to other TB risk factors, since there is less air pollution in Europe, but also a lot of other differences (general sanitation, different heath systems etc.)
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Interesting how this blog focuses more on the biomedical level of air pollution. I think you made it easy to understand for us, but also gave enough detail in your explanation to make the story complete. I guess that if the immune system is affected by air pollution, this explanation goes for many other infectious/communicable diseases. Is this true? Or is their not enough research to conclude this? If it is maybe it’s interesting to have a look at other diseases! Clear post and I like how you now already discussed non-communicable and communicable diseases
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I would have liked more detail about the connection but it is very interesting. It’s an excellent example of how health care and prevention has to make connections with other government and non-government programmes to really reduce disease risk. Air quality, sanitation and water etc. are crucial to support good health.
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Hi South East Asia group!
This is my first time commenting on your blog so I want to say that your blog looks very nice! Further, I had a question about actions of governments of the countries in this regio, since there is a high level of pollution and there are a lot of TB patients in South East Asia. Do governments raise awareness about the negative effects of inhaling the air or are (the most) residents already aware of this? And do you know if a tobacco policy is on the politic agenda (for smoke free public places for example). Good luck with your other blog posts.
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Dear group,
This is again a very interesting post and what an surprising connection between TB and air pollution. I did not know about this, but I can imagine air pollution affects the tissue of the lungs and thereby results in a higher susceptibility. I was wondering however, how do particles penetrating the vessels and causing inflammation can contribute to the impact of TB? Furthermore, you were explaining that the composition of bacteria in the air is influenced by high air pollution. Does this also mean that there are more bacteria in the air or is it only the result of an easier transmission as you mentioned?
Kind regards,
Lisa
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