Baby Hope’s Battle With TB

In Kenya, an 8-month-old baby girl named Hope was very ill—she was losing weight and her mother, who was also ill, didn’t know what was wrong. The baby was so ill that her neighbors began raising money to allow the mother and child to take one last visit to their home village.

The mother, determined to do everything she could, took baby Hope to the community health center, where she was diagnosed with TB. As part of a program developed by CDC and local partners, a community volunteer began visiting the family to ensure Hope was taking and tolerating all of her medications. The community volunteer also recognized that Hope’s mom had signs and symptoms of TB. After Hope’s mom was diagnosed with TB, she also started on treatment with daily support from the volunteer. Today, baby Hope has gained weight, and both she and her mother have been cured of TB and are healthy.