Tuberculosis sufferer, & tuberculosis doctor, Armenia.

My husband Dave (a journalist) and I recently travelled to Armenia to do a feature story on tuberculosis in the former Soviet bloc. We went to have a look at the work that Medecins Sans Frontieres are doing there. And they're doing quite a lot, it turns out. Armenia is unfortunately a world leader in drug resistant TB. Widespread misuse of antibiotics created to combat TB has lead to drug resistant strains that now infect about half a million people a year, less than 3% of whom receive proper treatment. MSF have been running a TB program in Armenia for many years, and are the only people working to fight multiple drug resistant TB in Armenia. Suren (photo directly below), suffers from XDR (extensively drug resistant) TB. He caught the disease in a Russian prison 13 years ago. His wife and two children live in Belarus, therefore he does not see them often. He is an intelligent, funny, fragile, tired, sick man. The toxic drugs and the separation from his family cause him mental anguish, ''How do you keep going when you're afraid to hug and kiss your own children?'' he says. The photo above is of Dr Armen Gharagyozyan, one of the many inspirational medical professionals working with MSF in Yerevan. To read the full story in The Age newspaper online then click here, or to see more images from the story on my website, click here and look at ''The Ticking TB Timebomb''.

My first visit to Yerevan, Armenia

As you might have seen on my other blog posts, I travelled to Armenia recently to do a story on tuberculosis. A month ago I knew next to nothing about the country, but now I can proudly tell you a bit about it! It was the first state to adopt Christianity and it lies in the Ararat mountains, where, and you can believe this or not, Noah's Ark is said to have come to rest. The Armenian diaspora is huge - eight million Armenians live outside the country. The population stands at about three million. The best time to visit Armenia is spring time. There are heaps of monasteries scattered around the country. The food is great - lots of grilled meat. The best bar I have ever been to is in Yerevan. It's a sub-terranean joint called the Rock Bar, click here. It's run by a really friendly couple (they'll always call a cab for you at the end of the night) and their library of music DVDs is never ending. Be sure to order a Rock Shot if and when you get there. This is stunning Mt Ararat... ...and it is much loved by Armenians. I took this photo at the popular weekly Vernissage flea market, it is heaven for treasure hunters.

Men in the crowd at Fromelles

Men stand patiently in the freezing conditions at the first burial service of an unknown WW1 soldier at the new Pheasants Wood Commonwealth War Cemetery in Fromelles, France.

A frosty day in Versailles