Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Wall Street Journal - August 24, 2005
Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
WHO, the health arm of the United Nations, estimates there are 2.4 million new tuberculosis cases globally each year and about 1.8 million deaths, said Mario Raviglione, director of the Stop TB department at WHO in Geneva. TB growth rates have slowed to 1% a year world-wide. But the epidemic is "essentially out of control" and growing at a 5% annual rate in the hardest-hit African countries, Dr. Raviglione said.
About a third of Africa's TB cases are linked to co-infection with HIV, the human-immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, and the intertwined epidemics fuel faster spread, disease progression and death.
"If we don't consider [TB] an emergency, we won't achieve the Millennium Development Goals," which call for halting or reversing incidence of major epidemics by 2015, Dr. Raviglione said. However, he said that there is no guarantee the 48 African health ministers will approve a draft resolution in a Friday vote.
Wilfred Nkhoma, WHO's regional adviser for Africa, said nine African countries are among the 22 nations that constitute 80% of the world's new TB cases reported every year. They are: South Africa, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
TB control in Africa currently suffers from inadequate resources and outdated tools for diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Raviglione said the basic sputum test employed in much of Africa dates from a century ago, and some of the staple antibiotics were developed 30 to 40 years ago.
To get ahead of the expanding TB epidemic, advocates are calling on developed nations to redouble investments in TB control over the next 10 years toward a total of $51 billion, including $7 billion to $8 billion in research and development for new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines.
Write to Marilyn Chase at marilyn.chase@wsj.com
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