The World Health Organization launched new tuberculosis ethics guidance, which provides ethical standards for countries implementing WHO's End TB Strategy.
The CDC notes that one-third of people in the world are infected with TB. There were 1.8 million TB-related deaths worldwide in 2015. TB also affects some of the poorest people in the world as socioeconomic factors for the disease include malnutrition, poor housing and sanitation, compounded by other risk factors such as HIV and alcohol use.
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The guidance addresses a number of ethical issues and situations related to TB, for example, the isolation of contagious patients and the rights of TB patients in prison.
The guidance notes five ethical obligations for governments, healthcare workers and other stakeholders. The obligations include avoiding all treatment adherence options before isolating TB patients and sharing research-based evidence to enhance TB policy around the world.