Quote Originally Posted by hifinutt View Post
fantastic , I went to the borders of Afghanistan and all over Pakistan looking at TB healthcare . fascinating and very sad as this disease is rampant partially due to fake drugs , poverty and non concordance with treatment
Tell me about it. I managed to contract TB whilst working in Bangladesh in the 1990s, almost immediately after leaving my University post to work as a self-employed consultant. Despite having been vaccinated, the absence of any sense of personal space in Bangladesh facilitated easy transmission. It's a nasty disease as is the multi-drug therapy which takes many months. One spectacular side effect of the treatment is that it turns one's urine a vivid Lucozade colour. This helps doctors confirm that you are treatment compliant, though it does result in some strange side glances if peeing in a pub urinal. Vaccine deniers as well as the factors you mentioned have seen a resurgence of the disease in many parts of the world.


I spent some time in Pakistan in 1990 helping the National Institute of Population Studies model the costs and effectiveness of reproductive health services. I was based in Islamabad which I found quite sterile and boring. However, nearby Rawalpindi was much more interesting and vibrant so I tended to drive there for dinner. I managed to find time to drive up to the Himalayan Hill stations of Murree and Nathia Ghali in an old long wheelbase Landrover. Spectacular frosty views each morning of the misty mountain ranges.Very bizarre drinking tea on the terraced lawns of an old Victorian era hotel with the mists parting as the sun rose.


It was a bit of an incongruous wild frontier back then. The promenades of the Victorian empire with red post boxes and stalls selling candy remained. However, this contrasted sharply with countless arms vendors selling assault rifles and other miscellaneously weaponry side by side. Nearby Abbottabad was where Osama Bin Laden holed up and where he was finally “eliminated”.