We celebrate the purported geniuses who discovered the cure--but we don't acknowledge that discovering a cure means nothing unless and until we get the cure to the people who need it--an enterprise we've failed at to a remarkable degree over the last 70 years.
Premiering today at 12 pm ET: the first ever Crash Course Lecture! Join us and guest lecturer John Green in the live chat as we learn about the history and science of #tuberculosis and how we can #StopTB
Crash Course Lectures are individual long-form videos that dive deep into a topic in a multidisciplinary way. As always at Crash Course, we embrace curiosity. We hope learners of all kinds enjoy these lectures, and that you are inspired to continue learning about the topic even after the video ends!
Hey so. I have something I need you guys to know on this disability pride month.
TLDR: Johnson and Johnson has a patent on a drug that is effective against drug-resistant tuberculosis, a curable disease that kills many people in poorer countries. That patent runs out this august, but they have a secondary patent on the drug with an added compound that makes it work better - and are planning to use this patent to keep generic versions of this drug from being produced and distributed to poorer countries. I cannot underline enough that tuberculosis is still a massive killer and is entirely curable, but people die of it because of this patent making the medication too expensive to obtain.
John’s video this week goes more in depth, but the call to action is needed. Spread this. Know about this. Write to the company. If you care at fucking all about this, please tell someone. Johnson and Johnson needs to know that their consumers will not be turning a blind eye to them trying to squeak around this. Put the blood on their hands where it belongs. Please.
https://youtu.be/tMhgw5SW0h4 (John Green’s video about this)
1st known tuberculosis cases in Neanderthals revealed in prehistoric bone anaylsis
Neanderthals living in Central Europe around 35,000 years ago suffered from tuberculosis (TB), a new DNA analysis of their bones reveals. This is the first time this disease has been identified in Neanderthals, raising questions about whether tuberculosis contributed to their extinction.
In two research studies published in the journal Tuberculosis in December 2023, one international team of researchers reanalyzed the skeletal remains of two Neanderthals discovered in a cave in Hungary in 1932 and another tested them for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB.
Subalyuk Cave, located in the Bükk Mountains of northern Hungary, was used for shelter by animals and humans numerous times over the centuries and is considered an extremely important Middle to Late Paleolithic site. Read more.
Please sign this petition to tell @DanaherCorp that their test prices are too much. Why should someone have to spend ALL their money just to get a test? Medicine should not be a luxury. #TimeFor5 #PeopleOverProfits
[ID: The Destiel confession meme from Supernatural. With teary eyes, Castiel says: "I love you." Dean, looking unruffled, replies: "Due to efforts from Nerdfighteria, Johnson & Johsnon have granted a nonprofit organization a license to produce generic versions of Bedaquiline, a drug that will undoubtedly save the lives of countless people struggling with drug-resistant tuberculosis." End ID]
image ID: the destiel breaking news meme, but after cas says "i love you", dean replies:
cas, danaher corporation and it’s subsidiary company cepheid are still charging tuberculosis (TB) patients in low- and middle-income countries $10–$20 to access quick and accurate testing despite the fact that cepheid’s genexpert machine tests were developed with at least $252 million in taxpayer money and doctors without borders found out that the tests only cost $3–$4.50 to produce. TB is a major cause of death and disability, not to mention that the inaccessibility of these tests leads to the spread of drug resistant TB around the globe.
it’s #timefor5. find out how you can help at tbfighters.org