Open Letter
Dear NPR:
I listen to All Things Considered on a fairly regular basis, and it usually provides very little for me in the way of controversy, at least to my over-educated, politically-moderate and inherently-yuppified mind. Until today.
At face value, to refer to MDR-TB as being a "milder" form of tuberculosis than XDR-TB is true. However, "milder" is a word that implies safety, which has nothing to do with MDR-TB. Regardless of whether or not Mr. Speaker's TB is XDR or MDR, his treatment will be long and costly. If he had infected anyone during his travels, their treatment will also be long and expensive, if they have the benefit of diagnosis and treatment at all. Two years and $100,000 worth of drugs with significant side effects does not usually equate to any form of the word "mild," and while admittedly XDR-TB is worse, I have come to expect a more careful word-choice from All Things Considered. People who are not already educated about tuberculosis and its forms may very easily be led astray by such a portrayal. I humbly suggest that if you're going to compare the two in the future, you refrain from using the word "milder" and use the phrase "less difficult to treat" or "more responsive to treatment" or something that implies the true relationship between XDR and MDR-TB, rather than a term that minimizes the significant danger MDR-TB poses to those exposed.
It was only with great restraint today that I kept myself from throwing something at my radio in frustration. Please, save my stereo, and choose your words more carefully in the future.
-A. E.
p.s. I note that in your online version of the article, the word "milder" does not appear. Thank you for that.
I listen to All Things Considered on a fairly regular basis, and it usually provides very little for me in the way of controversy, at least to my over-educated, politically-moderate and inherently-yuppified mind. Until today.
At face value, to refer to MDR-TB as being a "milder" form of tuberculosis than XDR-TB is true. However, "milder" is a word that implies safety, which has nothing to do with MDR-TB. Regardless of whether or not Mr. Speaker's TB is XDR or MDR, his treatment will be long and costly. If he had infected anyone during his travels, their treatment will also be long and expensive, if they have the benefit of diagnosis and treatment at all. Two years and $100,000 worth of drugs with significant side effects does not usually equate to any form of the word "mild," and while admittedly XDR-TB is worse, I have come to expect a more careful word-choice from All Things Considered. People who are not already educated about tuberculosis and its forms may very easily be led astray by such a portrayal. I humbly suggest that if you're going to compare the two in the future, you refrain from using the word "milder" and use the phrase "less difficult to treat" or "more responsive to treatment" or something that implies the true relationship between XDR and MDR-TB, rather than a term that minimizes the significant danger MDR-TB poses to those exposed.
It was only with great restraint today that I kept myself from throwing something at my radio in frustration. Please, save my stereo, and choose your words more carefully in the future.
-A. E.
p.s. I note that in your online version of the article, the word "milder" does not appear. Thank you for that.