Troy Curtis was working in a hospital in the African nation of Uganda last summer when he noticed a patient with tuberculosis.

The man, coughing and sneezing, was seated less than three feet from other people, who did not have the disease. However, all nine of those persons were quickly exposed to the disease because the hospital had no way to quarantine tuberculosis patients from those with less-serious illnesses.

Curtis, 21, decided at that point to raise funds in the United States to build a tuberculosis clinic for the hospital in Iganga, Uganda. He and fellow students at Augustana College in Rock Island have helped raise $2,000 of the $10,000 goal so far.

All contributions are tax-deductible and are being directed to the Iganga clinic.

"Response from people is amazing," Curtis said. "It's really neat and inspiring."

The tuberculosis clinic project has been adopted by the Global Connections class taught by Augustana professor Adam Kaul. The 21 students have divided into teams to organize publicity and fundraising events in an effort to help build the clinic.

Construction is actually under way, and the funds raised so far have paid to build a foundation.

What's tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis, or TB, is a contagious disease that spreads through the air like the common cold. Tuberculosis once killed many Americans, but the incidence and death rate have been going down since 1953. It is still a major public health concern in developing countries, however.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 9.3 million cases of tuberculosis in 2007, a rate that is increasing slowly. Some 86 percent of those cases were in Africa and Asia.

Left untreated, each person with an active disease will infect 10-15 others. People with TB bacteria will not necessarily become sick since a healthy immune system protects one against the disease for years. A weakened immune system increases the chances of an individual getting an active TB case, though.

The United States fought TB by quarantine and with antibiotic treatments. Such success can happen in Africa, Curtis believes, but, realistically, the effort must be funded by outside sources. Uganda has a multibillion-dollar debt, and much of its health-care costs are funded through foreign aid.

Curtis gets involved

Curtis, a senior pre-med major, has a deep interest in public health. He's done mission trips to New Orleans and Honduras, and he chose to go to Africa as an intern last summer.

He traveled through Experiential Learning International, or ELI, of Denver (www.eliabroad.org), a nonprofit organization that pairs individuals with volunteer, internship and study-abroad programs around the world.

Curtis left Augustana in May and worked in Africa until mid-August, staying in the home of a host family. As part of the internship, he helped build a water filtration system in a small village as well as working in the hospital. He returned to the university in mid-August and resumed his job as a community adviser in a residence hall.

"I was home for one night," said Curtis, a native of Freeport, Ill.

Clinic project

After Curtis realized the TB patients were mixed in with the general hospital population, he got busy on the clinic project. He persisted in getting cost estimates from contractors, and the project is being overseen now by Uganda's ELI Abroad contact. Curtis and the contact in Iganga e-mail each other weekly.

Kaul, the professor, finds the project inspirational, especially because it was a student's idea. Student empowerment is very exciting to watch, he added.

Curtis plans to return to Iganga to see the clinic when it is completed. He said he is gratified to know that a young person from Illinois - not a doctor or a big-name celebrity - can work to make a difference in faraway Africa.