My Art in the Time of a Pandemic
The Importance of Health
The stamp on today's postcard was issued on August 19, 1963 by the Philippine government. It is one of three stamps in a range of denominations that make up the 1963 Fight Against Tuberculosis issue.
The lung disease tuberculosis (TB) has been a major health problem for decades. Although it is curable, over a million people die from it each year worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, "TB is one of the top 10 causes of death and the leading cause from a single infectious agent (above HIV/AIDS)."
TB is transmitted through the air when an infectious person sneezes or coughs. A person only needs to inhale a few droplets to become infected. The World Health Organization reports that about one-quarter of the world's population has latent TB, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill with the disease nor can they transmit it.
About half of all people with TB can be found in 8 countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and South Africa.
On the stamp, we see the double barred cross, a modified version of the Cross of Lorraine. The french physician Gilbert Sersiron recommended its use in 1902 as a symbol fo the crusade against TB. Today it is used as the official American Lung Association's logo.
*Coronavirus Disease 2019:
Update in Maryland- 4/27/2020
Update in Maryland- 4/27/2020
19,487 confirmed cases
945 deaths
Update in New York State - 4/27/2020
291,996 confirmed cases
22,668 deaths, including 17,515 in NYC
Total in United States: 987,467 confirmed cases, 56,164 deaths
Total Worldwide: 3,036,770 confirmed cases, 210,842 deaths
Total in United States: 987,467 confirmed cases, 56,164 deaths
Total Worldwide: 3,036,770 confirmed cases, 210,842 deaths
* All numbers are taken from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
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