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Tuberculosis Can Be Contained in 5 Years, UN Agency
Says
By: Elisabeth Olson
The International Herald Tribune, May 22, 2001
GENEVA- Tuberculosis, one of the world's major killers,
could be brought under control within five years if nations would commit
an additional $400 million a year, according to officials of the World
Health Organization.
.
About 2 billion people worldwide are infected with tuberculosis, which has
surged with the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and the
emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Tuberculosis cases increased 6
percent from 1997 to 1999, fueled by a rise in Africa, where the AIDS
epidemic has lowered resistance.
.
The additional financing would allow treatment, including medicines, for
70 percent of those infected, up from the current 23 percent, according to
the organization's report.
.
The added treatment could halve the number of deaths from the disease,
which is curable, by the end of the decade. Otherwise, tuberculosis deaths
are expected to double in the same period, according to the agency,
climbing by 10.2 million new victims yearly.
.
"You can effectively treat this disease and prevent its spread,
including in people who have HIV," said Dr. David Heymann, the
organization's chief for communicable diseases. "It is very important
to treat TB in HIV-infected patients to prolong their life, and because TB
can easily be transferred to others."
.
The report was issued last week as the World Health Organization's 191
member countries held their annual meeting in Geneva. The director of the
organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, named tuberculosis as one of the
agency's five major targets in the coming year. The organization, a part
of the United Nations, also announced a new plan to combat the disease.
.
Nearly all tuberculosis deaths occur in developing countries, the agency
reported. The organization's plan offers a blueprint for the 22
hardest-hit countries, including Brazil, China, India, Russia and South
Africa.
.
Although the treatment is cheap, costing as little as $10 for the entire
six-month course of drugs administered daily, its effectiveness lies in
proper administration. Otherwise, the disease can take hold in patients,
particularly AIDS sufferers whose immune systems are weakened.
.
The majority of countries where the disease is most prevalent - 15 out of
22 - has developed national plans. But the plans of nine countries are
inadequate, said Petra Heitkamp, a coordinator for the Stop TB
Partnership, a coalition of private groups that work under the auspices of
the World Health Organization to eradicate tuberculosis.
.
The affected countries were enlisted to study their tuberculosis control
programs after a meeting on the issue last year in Amsterdam. The effort,
Mrs. Brundtland said, "shows us how we can turn the tide and prevent
25 million TB deaths over the next 20 years."
GENEVA Tuberculosis, one of the world's major killers, could be brought
under control within five years if nations would commit an additional $400
million a year, according to officials of the World Health Organization.
.
About 2 billion people worldwide are infected with tuberculosis, which has
surged with the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and the
emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Tuberculosis cases increased 6
percent from 1997 to 1999, fueled by a rise in Africa, where the AIDS
epidemic has lowered resistance.
.
The additional financing would allow treatment, including medicines, for
70 percent of those infected, up from the current 23 percent, according to
the organization's report.
.
The added treatment could halve the number of deaths from the disease,
which is curable, by the end of the decade. Otherwise, tuberculosis deaths
are expected to double in the same period, according to the agency,
climbing by 10.2 million new victims yearly.
.
"You can effectively treat this disease and prevent its spread,
including in people who have HIV," said Dr. David Heymann, the
organization's chief for communicable diseases. "It is very important
to treat TB in HIV-infected patients to prolong their life, and because TB
can easily be transferred to others."
.
The report was issued last week as the World Health Organization's 191
member countries held their annual meeting in Geneva. The director of the
organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, named tuberculosis as one of the
agency's five major targets in the coming year. The organization, a part
of the United Nations, also announced a new plan to combat the disease.
.
Nearly all tuberculosis deaths occur in developing countries, the agency
reported. The organization's plan offers a blueprint for the 22
hardest-hit countries, including Brazil, China, India, Russia and South
Africa.
.
Although the treatment is cheap, costing as little as $10 for the entire
six-month course of drugs administered daily, its effectiveness lies in
proper administration. Otherwise, the disease can take hold in patients,
particularly AIDS sufferers whose immune systems are weakened.
.
The majority of countries where the disease is most prevalent - 15 out of
22 - has developed national plans. But the plans of nine countries are
inadequate, said Petra Heitkamp, a coordinator for the Stop TB
Partnership, a coalition of private groups that work under the auspices of
the World Health Organization to eradicate tuberculosis.
.
The affected countries were enlisted to study their tuberculosis control
programs after a meeting on the issue last year in Amsterdam. The effort,
Mrs. Brundtland said, "shows us how we can turn the tide and prevent
25 million TB deaths over the next 20 years."
GENEVA Tuberculosis, one of the world's major killers, could be brought
under control within five years if nations would commit an additional $400
million a year, according to officials of the World Health Organization.
.
About 2 billion people worldwide are infected with tuberculosis, which has
surged with the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and the
emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Tuberculosis cases increased 6
percent from 1997 to 1999, fueled by a rise in Africa, where the AIDS
epidemic has lowered resistance.
.
The additional financing would allow treatment, including medicines, for
70 percent of those infected, up from the current 23 percent, according to
the organization's report.
.
The added treatment could halve the number of deaths from the disease,
which is curable, by the end of the decade. Otherwise, tuberculosis deaths
are expected to double in the same period, according to the agency,
climbing by 10.2 million new victims yearly.
.
"You can effectively treat this disease and prevent its spread,
including in people who have HIV," said Dr. David Heymann, the
organization's chief for communicable diseases. "It is very important
to treat TB in HIV-infected patients to prolong their life, and because TB
can easily be transferred to others."
.
The report was issued last week as the World Health Organization's 191
member countries held their annual meeting in Geneva. The director of the
organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, named tuberculosis as one of the
agency's five major targets in the coming year. The organization, a part
of the United Nations, also announced a new plan to combat the disease.
.
Nearly all tuberculosis deaths occur in developing countries, the agency
reported. The organization's plan offers a blueprint for the 22
hardest-hit countries, including Brazil, China, India, Russia and South
Africa.
.
Although the treatment is cheap, costing as little as $10 for the entire
six-month course of drugs administered daily, its effectiveness lies in
proper administration. Otherwise, the disease can take hold in patients,
particularly AIDS sufferers whose immune systems are weakened.
.
The majority of countries where the disease is most prevalent - 15 out of
22 - has developed national plans. But the plans of nine countries are
inadequate, said Petra Heitkamp, a coordinator for the Stop TB
Partnership, a coalition of private groups that work under the auspices of
the World Health Organization to eradicate tuberculosis.
.
The affected countries were enlisted to study their tuberculosis control
programs after a meeting on the issue last year in Amsterdam. The effort,
Mrs. Brundtland said, "shows us how we can turn the tide and prevent
25 million TB deaths over the next 20 years."
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