Global News Post: Tuberculosis

India Bans Serological Test Kits for TB Diagnosis

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama): The Indian government has banned the use of serodiagnostic test kits for diagnosis of tuberculosis in the country following inaccurate results that could pose a health risk, Press Trust of India reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The central government is satisfied that the use of serodiagnostic test kits for diagnosis of tuberculosis are giving inconsistent and improper results, leading to wrong diagnosis and their use is likely to involve risk to human beings," said a notification issued by India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Ministry said "it is necessary and expedient to prohibit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of the said test kits in public interest."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over an estimated two million people contract TB in the country each year. The government estimates that about 1.5 million TB suspects are subjected to serological tests every year in India at an estimated cost of US$15 million (over Rs 75 crore).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The test kits have been banned with immediate effect and follows a policy statement issued by WHO over commercial serodiagnostic tests for tuberculosis stating that "commercial serological tests provide inconsistent and imprecise findings resulting in highly variable values for sensitivity and specificity."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The statement clearly recommends that commercial tests not be used for the diagnosis of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The government had also sent a warning to various states for not using the serodiagnostic or serological tests.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The government has declared tuberculosis a notifiable disease since May 7 this year, making it mandatory on all private doctors, healthcare providers and clinical establishments treating such patients to report each case to the government. -NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India Bans Serological Test Kits for TB Diagnosis

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama): The Indian government has banned the use of serodiagnostic test kits for diagnosis of tuberculosis in the countr...

INDONESIA: Housewives Help Fight TB

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloZAtY3nLeYUGPa49ZNvmursiQvDMBgGSpDHIZFIccGlEtp07Lb35TtmTzjHePbSBPOPScssFz-KAxwhwMPUS5ZcbCCvsli0NUwb4zSUBcHEolPNy78ugPW6qv7Z6WhXi2uAIoDr33t4/s1600/201206131043080348-705897.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5753786897188399826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloZAtY3nLeYUGPa49ZNvmursiQvDMBgGSpDHIZFIccGlEtp07Lb35TtmTzjHePbSBPOPScssFz-KAxwhwMPUS5ZcbCCvsli0NUwb4zSUBcHEolPNy78ugPW6qv7Z6WhXi2uAIoDr33t4/s400/201206131043080348-705897.jpg" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVf20LquBFQ1cSz8lX13oW8reg4Vb8BLSZPDjXtI4D7FRllIC8NkvXCfNNXTxF0hUV9XBSXdueow2jbJDwHco1ILp8vQI0-_7bPa1DU6jc05xnGI1DIfYjykrsvCka3k1aEeKP6R3Wa1I/s1600/201206131043080348-707558.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5753786900321656690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVf20LquBFQ1cSz8lX13oW8reg4Vb8BLSZPDjXtI4D7FRllIC8NkvXCfNNXTxF0hUV9XBSXdueow2jbJDwHco1ILp8vQI0-_7bPa1DU6jc05xnGI1DIfYjykrsvCka3k1aEeKP6R3Wa1I/s400/201206131043080348-707558.jpg" /></a></p><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-font-kerning:18.0pt">Photo: <a href="http://www.pr-tbaisyiyah.or.id/" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext; text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Courtesy of Aisyiyah</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-font-kerning:18.0pt">Thousands of housewives have been trained up<o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-font-kerning:18.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">CICENDO (IRIN) - Housewives in Cicendo District near Bandung in West Java, Indonesia's third largest city, are spearheading the fight against tuberculosis (TB) by helping to identify people suspected of having contracted the disease and then referring them to a clinic for treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Activists trained by Aisyiah, the women's wing of Muhammadiyah, a Muslim organization, work with religious as well as neighbourhood leaders to educate people about TB, and recruit family members to monitor patients' adherence to their medication. People with TB often experience social stigma and many Indonesians see TB as a disease of the poor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">"One of our problems is that people here are ashamed to admit that they have TB," said Nunung Resmawati, one of the "community cadres" in Cicendo District. "So we talk to them and try to convince them TB is not a curse, and not something to be ashamed of. It's a serious disease but one that can be cured." <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Aisyiah says it has trained more than 4,800 people in 18 of the country's 33 provinces in 41 districts since its Community TB Care programme started in 2009, with assistance from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. So far its cadres have identified more than 24,000 suspected cases, about 3,000 of whom were confirmed to have contracted the disease. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">The UN World Health Organization (WHO) notes that about one-third of the global population is infected with TB bacteria, but only a small proportion will become sick, yet it is still one of the world's top killer infectious diseases. About 95 percent of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. It is also one of the three main causes of death among women aged 15 to 44. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">With a population of about 240 million, Indonesia has the fourth highest TB burden globally, WHO reported in 2012. In 2010 the estimated prevalence per 100 000 people for all forms of TB was 289, with an incidence of 189 cases. According to the Ministry of Health, some 61,000 deaths a year occur as a result of TB. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Many people are still not aware that to be cured, a TB patient must strictly follow a treatment regimen and complete the full course of medicine as prescribed. The strategy recommended by WHO for the detection and cure of TB is the Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS). <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">But it's not just women that Aisyiah is involving in their efforts. Men are also getting involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">"I supervised my sister-in-law to take TB drugs regularly and thank God she's cured now," said Ridwan, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name. "When she was sick with TB she was pregnant, but she managed to give birth to a healthy baby," he told IRIN. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Close to 5,000 women are getting the word outIndonesia reduced new TB cases from 343 per 100,000 people in 1990 to 235 in 2009, according to the Health Ministry. However, under its national TB strategy 2010-2014, the goal is to lower the number of new cases to 224 by 2014. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">The case detection rate has improved from 20 percent in 2000 to 73.1 percent in 2009, and the country aims to increase the number of TB patients cured by using DOTS from 85 percent to 88 percent by 2014. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">TB remains a major health threat in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, said Erlina Burhan, chief pulmonologist at Persahabatan Hospital, the country's main referral centre for TB patients. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Close to 5,000 women are getting the word out "In Jakarta the new case finding rate is already high - at above 72 percent - but some of them did not complete their treatment. They could easily infect others," Burhan said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Health experts believe around 2 percent of new TB cases in Indonesia are multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB, and that up to 20 percent of people who undergo treatment for recurring TB are suffering from MDR-TB. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">However, these data are mainly from DOTS centres. According to WHO, information from the private sector and the non-national TB programme public sector has not yet been recorded by the country's TB programme, so there are no nationwide statistics on the prevalence of MDR-TB. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">MDR-TB occurs when a strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes the disease, becomes resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, two of the most powerful first-line drugs. Burhan said MDR-TB patients must take a combination of second-line drugs, which may have more side effects. The treatment typically lasts two years and costs more than for non-resistant TB. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Persahabatan Hospital receives about 1,000 TB patients from Jakarta and neighbouring suburbs every year, and has treated 270 people with MDR-TB since 2009, 40 of whom have completed treatment, while the while the rest are still receiving therapy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>  <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:22.5pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">"Some of the patients stopped taking drugs after two months because they felt well and didn't realize they could get MDR-TB," Burhan said. "It hard to convince patients to complete treatment."</span><span style="font-size:5.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

INDONESIA: Housewives Help Fight TB

Photo: Courtesy of Aisyiyah Thousands of housewives have been trained up CICENDO (IRIN) - Housewives in Cicendo District near Bandu...

India: Mandatory Notification of Tuberculosis

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New Delhi (PIB): The Government of India has declared Tuberculosis (TB) as a mandatory notifiable disease with immediate effect. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In order to ensure proper TB diagnosis and case management, reduce TB transmission and address the problems of emergence of spread of Drug Resistant-TB, it is essential to have complete information of all TB cases. For the purpose of this notification, healthcare providers will include clinical establishments run or managed by the Government (including local authorities), private or NGO sectors and/or individual practitioners. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Notification of TB cases by all healthcare providers will help patients with better access to quality diagnosis and treatment. This would facilitate early diagnosis, rational treatment, prevention of complications, drug resistance and reduce deaths due to TB. This notification system will also help the healthcare providers to offer better linkages for quality diagnostic and treatment services to the TB patients. Further it will facilitate the National TB Control Programme to realistically estimate TB disease burden, plan resources and control measures commensurate with the actual burden of disease for larger interest of the public and nation as a whole. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">TB continues to be a major public health problem accounting for substantial morbidity and mortality in the country. Early diagnosis and complete treatment of TB is the corner-stone of TB prevention and control strategy. Inappropriate diagnosis and irregular/incomplete treatment with anti-TB drugs may contribute to complications, disease spread and emergence of Drug Resistant TB.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

India: Mandatory Notification of Tuberculosis

New Delhi (PIB): The Government of India has declared Tuberculosis (TB) as a mandatory notifiable disease with immediate effect. In orde...

Multi-Drug Resistant TB The Main Health Challenge In Kenya

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NAIROBI (NNN-KBC) -- Public Health and Sanitation Minister Beth Mugo says that multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains the greatest challenge in the health sector in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The drug resistant TB is the second leading cause of death after HIV/AIDS, she said here Wednesday ahead of the observation of World TB day on Saturday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She said a study conducted in Kenya in 2010 revealed that about 106,083 cases of tuberculosis were reported out of which 7,426 people lost their lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mugo said tuberculosis was a health issue as well as a developmental matter which needed funding from both the government and donors. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She also called on civil society and the private sector to partner with government in the fight against TB. -- NNN-KBC<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Multi-Drug Resistant TB The Main Health Challenge In Kenya

NAIROBI (NNN-KBC) -- Public Health and Sanitation Minister Beth Mugo says that multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains the grea...

Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Mumbai Cases under Investigation

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city></st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;"> (PIB) ---</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has sent a central team of<span class="apple-style-span"> </span>doctors to Mumbai to ascertain facts about the reported cases of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis cases. The central team comprising of Sr. Chief Medical Officer, Central TB Division (CTD), GOI; Consultant (Drug Resistant TB), CTD and National Program Officer (Lab.), WHO-India has already reached Mumbai on 16th January 2012 and started situation analysis. The team is in touch with the health authorities of Maharashtra, Mumbai Corporation, while also involving experts from concerned stake holders including <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Hinduja</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype></st1:place>, Mumbai. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">So far as report from Hinduja Hospital is concerned, this Hospital Laboratory is not accredited by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, GOI for culture and sensitivity for second line drugs to diagnose Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) / Totally Drug Resistant (TDR) cases and is only accredited for conducting Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) by liquid culture and sensitivity for first line drug only. Recently, a proposal for accreditation of Line Probe Assay test (LPA) has been received and is under process. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">As of now, the Revised National TB Control Programme has accredited only following three labs for conducting quality-assured second-line anti-TB drug susceptibility testing of flouroquinolones and injectables, viz (1) National TB Institute (NTI), <st1:city w:st="on">Bangalore</st1:city>; (2) LRS Institute of TB and Chest Disease, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New   Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>, and (3) National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In addition, the term TDR ‘totally drug resistant’ TB is non-standardized and is misleading; testing for resistance beyond XDR-TB is not advocated by WHO and poor clinical response to treatment has not yet been correlated with diagnosis of drug resistant TB without Laboratory conformation from Accredited Labs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR-TB) is defined as resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin (two of the most potent first line anti-TB drugs), with or without resistance to other first-line drugs; Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR-TB) is defined as resistance to at least Rifampicin, Isoniazid (i.e. MDR-TB) plus resistance to any fluoroquinolone, and to any of the 3 second-line injectable drugs (capreomycin, kanamycin and amikacin). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The term “totally drug resistant” tuberculosis is neither recognized by the WHO nor by Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). For now these cases are defined as Extensively Drug Resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), according to WHO definitions, and accordingly can be managed by national XDR-TB treatment guidelines. Current WHO recommendations advise against the use of the Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) results for second line drugs beyond those used to identify XDR-TB to guide treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Any type of Drug Resistant TB can only be diagnosed by Laboratory Test and not by clinical examination alone. Preliminary results of second-line DST for MDR-TB patients from DOTS Plus sites and also isolates collected from Gujarat and Maharashtra drug resistance surveys show that there is not yet any XDR-TB amongst new cases and ~0.5% amongst re-treatment cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Mumbai Cases under Investigation

NEW DELHI (PIB) --- The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has sent a central team of doctors to Mumbai to ascertain facts abo...

Study Says Tobacco Smoking Fuels TB Epidemic

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Vidushi Sinha from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span> </span><span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A recent report from the World Health Organization noted that for the first time, the number of people falling ill and dying from tuberculosis is declining.<span>  </span>But with nearly one fifth of the world's population today still smoking tobacco, and with millions more exposed to second-hand smoke, progress against TB could be undermined.<span>  </span>That's the conclusion of a new study that predicts smoking will contribute to an additional 34 million TB deaths by 2050.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The World Health Organization's efforts to control the spread of tuberculosis have focused mainly on detecting and treating active TB infections around the world.<span>  </span>Far less effort has gone toward addressing the causes of this highly contagious respiratory disease.<span>  </span>Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, believes the campaign against this global killer would be strengthened if we understood more clearly why people get sick with TB in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Despite our control efforts - you still have more than a million people each year dying from TB and millions and millions getting infected. We realize that it's still a very important problem. So we have to do the practical thing (treating people) and we have to do the fundamental research things at the same time,” Fauci said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A new study of the worldwide TB epidemic by researchers at the <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city> concludes that tobacco use, which by itself is a major public health concern, is also an important factor that's working against TB control efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“What this paper shows is that there is a false dichotomy, that you can’t control tuberculosis if you don’t control tobacco use,” said Dr. Stanton Glantz, co-author of the study and director of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename></st1:place>'s<span>  </span>Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. He and his colleagues note that smoking does not cause tuberculosis. TB is caused by a bacterium. But smoking depresses the immune system and makes it more likely that a person with a latent lung infection will develop an active and potentially deadly case of TB. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It (first- and second-hand smoking) increases the number of people who will get tuberculosis by about 7 percent. It increases the number of people projected to die from tuberculosis between now and 2050 by about 26 percent,” Glantz said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Glantz believes his study, the first to identify this direct link between tobacco use and TB infection and mortality rates, should be of great interest to health policy makers and those guiding TB control programs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Bottom line: if you want to control the infectious disease of TB, you have to control the tobacco industry and the tobacco industry’s efforts to increase tobacco use, particularly in developing countries where TB is a big problem,” Glantz said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Dr. Glantz's study predicts that in parts of the developing world where TB is already endemic, the situation will get worse if tobacco companies continue to expand their markets.<span>  </span>It concludes that aggressive tobacco control measures will enable these countries not only to curb the emphysema, heart disease and lung cancer associated with smoking tobacco, but also to avert the millions of additional deaths from tuberculosis. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Study Says Tobacco Smoking Fuels TB Epidemic

By Vidushi Sinha from Washington A recent report from the World Health Organization noted that for the first time, the number of people...

PAKISTAN: Tackling the burden of TB

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSL8GMhni_lVccxQF_iVFMW31-CYdndUnJcJv_vDsTlTHsnm7yOx3B_nJ8Rk6l1JBpdY_mulB5k-e8rUAJd18kMvqOgccCP2vLeWOoM-fgGU0LZy45rnkxxKO73WXaDm3nEuEn0Sb2k1k/s1600/paktb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSL8GMhni_lVccxQF_iVFMW31-CYdndUnJcJv_vDsTlTHsnm7yOx3B_nJ8Rk6l1JBpdY_mulB5k-e8rUAJd18kMvqOgccCP2vLeWOoM-fgGU0LZy45rnkxxKO73WXaDm3nEuEn0Sb2k1k/s320/paktb.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">TB is often associated with poverty </span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> Photo: Kamila Hyat/IRIN</span></i></b></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">PUNJAB- (IRIN) - Pakistan has intensified efforts to contain tuberculosis (TB), which affects about 17,000 people, making the country sixth among nations with the highest burden of disease, according to officials. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"TB is a curable disease," said Ejaz Qadeer, programme manager of the National TB Control Programme (NTCP). "All it needs [is] a complete treatment [effort] spanning over eight months. Under a public/private partnership programme entitled 'Stop TB', 7,000 TB care centres are being set up. We are planning to create awareness at all levels, although it is difficult and there is a lot of resistance, especially when it comes to schoolchildren and the education department." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">According to Nadeem Zaka, senior medical officer at the health department in Punjab, TB is responsible for 5.1 percent of the total national disease burden in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Muhammad Anwar, senior programme manager for advocacy at NTCP, said: "The mission focuses on improving case detection, treatment adherence, combating stigma and treating TB patients." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">On the impact of the disease on patients, Anwar said: "The three major difficulties incorporated in their lives due to TB are financial problems, loneliness and hospitalization. NTCP is providing 90 percent of its treatment free of cost to poor patients and providing free medicines to private clinics and hospitals so that free TB medication is available to all segments of society. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"In 56 districts [in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Punjab</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">Province</st1:placetype></st1:place>] over 5,000 health centres are working, while Rural Health Units are delivering their best in providing medical facilities to TB patients." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The involvement of teachers, religious scholars, students and health workers on a large scale has seen a gradual change for the better, and Anwar was hopeful the government would achieve its Millennium Development Goal. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">But the costs are high, experts say, and the government has been obliged to turn to the Global Fund in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"[Initiatives aimed at] reducing the burden of tuberculosis in Pakistan by improving access to quality care services will receive grants worth US$147,281,452 in two phases," said Marcela Rojo, a spokeswoman for the Global Fund, Geneva. The first grant worth $9,936,769 has been released. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Meanwhile, those living with the disease complain of stigma and discrimination. "People act strange when told of this disease," said Jahangir, a TB patient. "They avoid you. They need to be told there is a cure."---IRIN </div>

PAKISTAN: Tackling the burden of TB

TB is often associated with poverty in Pakistan Photo: Kamila Hyat/IRIN PUNJAB- (IRIN) - Pakistan has intensified efforts to contain tu...

WHO: Despite Record-Low Infections, TB Funding a Concern

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Vidushi Sinha from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span> </span><span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The World Health Organization says the number of people worldwide getting tuberculosis declined last year for the first time, but experts warn this progress could be undone by cuts in funding, especially amid global economic turmoil.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">W.H.O. statistics published Tuesday show the number of people who became sick with the disease dropped to 8.8 million in 2010. The number of people who died last year from TB fell to 1.4 million.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The report says every region of the world except <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> appears to be on track for a fifty percent decline in tuberculosis deaths by 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Brazil</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> have made especially dramatic progress over the past two decades. In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the report says, TB deaths fell by 80 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">W.H.O.'s Director-General Margaret Chan says strong leadership in many countries, coupled with domestic financing and foreign donor support, has begun to make a difference in the fight against tuberculosis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Calls for increased funding<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Dr. Mario Raviglione, Director of the W.H.O.'s Stop TB Department, says the report shouldn't ease concerns about the disease.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I am concerned that the momentum that has been created by these achievements may actually be lost," he said. "So that’s why we are calling for an increase in the intensity of tuberculosis control and research."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Tuberculosis is still a huge global problem," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "It’s a problem both from control with the tools that we have -- and the problem is, that we don’t have many of the sophisticated tools that we have for other diseases such as HIV/AIDS."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">With new rapid diagnostic tools, drugs and vaccines beginning to show promise, experts say there can be no let-up in the worldwide campaigns to check the disease, a sentiment echoed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement warning against complacency.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Too many millions still develop TB each year, and too many die," he said. "I urge serious and sustained support for TB prevention and care, especially for the world's poorest and most vulnerable people."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The W.H.O. says about a third of the world's population is infected with TB bacteria, but only a relatively small percentage develops the disease. TB bacteria destroy lung tissue and can spread through the air when people cough.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The agency says that overall the death rate from TB has dropped 40 percent since 1990. ---VOA News</span></div>

WHO: Despite Record-Low Infections, TB Funding a Concern

By Vidushi Sinha from Washington The World Health Organization says the number of people worldwide getting tuberculosis declined last y...

WHO: Tuberculosis Declines For First Time

WHO: Tuberculosis Declines For First Time

The World Health Organization says the number of people worldwide getting tuberculosis declined last year for the first time. WHO statist...

Tanzania: Mushrooms Could Save Families Out Of Poverty

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">MOROGORO (<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">TANZANIA</st1:place></st1:country-region>)-(NNN-DAILYNEWS) -- The myth about mushroom consumption that originates from the fact that some of the species collected from the wild are poisonous should not be cause for despair to families intending to fight poverty in a short period of time, an expert has advised. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Consumption of mushrooms in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> is as old as history but unfortunately poisonous mushrooms are also collected along with edible varieties putting consumers in a danger of consuming poison. Lethal mushrooms are not easily distinguished from edible ones. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Some families have experienced tragic losses of their beloved ones due to consumption of toxic wild mushrooms. But today, mushroom entrepreneurs can apply the simplest available methods to ensure food safety at household level. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Dr. Delphina Mamiro of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro says that wild mushrooms become plentiful in the forests and farmlands during wet season. Researches have come up with simple methods that can benefit millions of people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"I have seen the potential in the production of mushrooms in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> especially the Oyster type with seeds readily available. Some people ask where the market is but remember that they inquire about the market for a commodity they don't have. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"I would like to assure you that the market is wide both within and beyond national borders," Dr Mamiro says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Apart from her office work, she produces dozens of kilograms of mushrooms with daily harvests after every 25 to 28 days. "The market grows day by day and I am ready to share my knowledge and skills with fellow citizens who wish to fight poverty," Dr Mamiro offers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">A market survey revealed that the current retail price of oyster mushrooms ranges from 5,000/- to 10,000/-. However, locally cultivated mushrooms are not common in Tanzanian markets. For example: most of mushrooms sold in hotels in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> are imported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Dr Frank Kimboi from the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) says that frequent <i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">mushroom consumption is recommended for patients of hypertension, ulcers, diabetics, tuberculosis, high level of cholesterol, and cancer. </span></b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Also, frequent mushroom eating contributes to body immunity maintenance which is important to fight viral diseases. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Mushrooms are known to produce lipid lowering agents. Furthermore, mushrooms have a low energy level which is beneficial for weight reduction that is beneficial for the diet of persons suffering from metabolic diseases such as gout and rheumatism," Dr Kimboi says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Speaking while cutting into small pieces remains of discarded agricultural wastes (substrates) such as dry straws of rice, maize, millet, maize cobs and different types of grass, Dr Mamiro says that mushroom farming also contributes to environmental protection since agricultural wastes are re-used instead of burning them. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Mushrooms are a short duration crop and are land saving as their cultivation does not need much land. Mushrooms can be grown on a wide range of substrates and as such one doesn't need expensive agricultural inputs such as fertilizers," she says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The expert recalled the time she visited families in Masasi, Lindi, Morogoro and Kilimanjaro and felt bad when she saw people living in poverty which can be kicked with as little capital as 15,000/- plus very simple technology. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"The government educated me and I feel indebted. I must share my knowledge with other people on the best ways to cultivate mushrooms. Lack of knowledge on proper mushroom farming is the major setback for the sustainable production of mushrooms. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Anyone interested is invited," she says. There are many edible mushroom varieties that are cultivated today. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Mushrooms can be grown either on commercial scale using highly sophisticated equipment and mushroom houses, or as a home business using fabricated equipment, low cost materials and agricultural wastes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Whether for large- or small scale production, the technologies for growing different species for edible mushrooms are available and one can choose what species or type of mushrooms can be cultivated in the locality. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The agricultural wastes are used for the mushrooms to feed on. These are boiled to release starch, left to cool down and wrapped up in plastic bags or containers ready to receive seeds. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">They are placed in a dark room the simplest but equally efficient made out of thatch with bare floor sprinkled with water to provide moisture in the room. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Mushrooms protein content is higher comparable to some vegetables. Although they cannot compete with meat, fish and eggs, their protein content is almost equal to maize, milk and legumes and definitely higher than other leafy and root vegetables," Dr Mamiro says. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">She concluded by mentioning other advantages of mushrooms which are rich in protein (about 51 % on dry weight basis) and also rich in vitamins. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">People have used mushrooms to overcome numerous diseases and disorders relating to the immune system, chronic and acute allergies, cataracts, hearing difficulties, stress syndrome, chronic fatigue, diarrhoea, constipation, and disorders of the liver," Dr Mamiro concluded. -- NNN-DAILYNEWS<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Tanzania: Mushrooms Could Save Families Out Of Poverty

MOROGORO ( TANZANIA )-(NNN-DAILYNEWS) -- The myth about mushroom consumption that originates from the fact that some of the species collec...

New Procedure Could Get More TB Patients Treated

<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 14pt;">Study experiments with more convenient disease testing schedule<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Art Chimes </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">from St. Louis, Missouri<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 3.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWivGc261EtnhHFJh27L9P2tFYIhcY020dqNSpuNiTjq5KJDJg5_TwL2v6-ywjL2D0yxYaBN_wHyixfdbkHm4UTKaYSVtGnAHAA4VNoQ6fWAduMsgr1hmjNE1YuNOmL5tIyH9iwi5k-Vo/s1600/mycobacterium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWivGc261EtnhHFJh27L9P2tFYIhcY020dqNSpuNiTjq5KJDJg5_TwL2v6-ywjL2D0yxYaBN_wHyixfdbkHm4UTKaYSVtGnAHAA4VNoQ6fWAduMsgr1hmjNE1YuNOmL5tIyH9iwi5k-Vo/s1600/mycobacterium.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Mycobacterium tuberculosis <a href="http://flic.kr/p/r3uir"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">© flickr.com/ajc1</span></a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 3.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">An international team of researchers has found that revised protocols for diagnosing tuberculosis may be more user-friendly for patients and help bring more people into treatment, especially in poorer countries.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">In many places around the world where tuberculosis is a major threat, suspected cases are diagnosed by looking through a microscope for the TB bacteria in sputum - the mixture of saliva and mucus that the patient coughs up.<br />
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Under current protocol, three specimens are collected on two consecutive days - one "on-the-spot" in the clinic, one the next morning at home, and then a third "spot" sample when the patient returns to the clinic.<br />
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But many patients don't live near a diagnosis facility, so often they come once, but don't return for the next day's tests.<br />
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Luis Cuevas of the World Health Organization and the University of Liverpool in England and colleagues tested a variation of the protocol, taking two "spot" samples in the clinic an hour apart, and a third one the next day.<br />
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"And if you use the new scheme, you end up with exactly the same result. Whether you do it one way or another, you end up with the same number of cases."<br />
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Not only that, the results from examining just the first two specimens identified most TB-positive patients. So if both specimens are collected on day one, there is a greater likelihood of an accurate diagnosis.<br />
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The studies were done in Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria, and Yemen.<br />
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Researcher Cuevas says it's important to improve the process of diagnosing tuberculosis. "What we see very frequently is that accessing the diagnosis for TB is often a barrier to access treatment for TB. So, facilitating a rapid diagnosis is very key to improve access to treatment."<br />
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There are more high-tech diagnostic tests for tuberculosis, but they are as much as 15 times more expensive than microscopic examination of the sputum, so in resource-poor countries the less costly diagnosis procedure is likely to remain dominant. (VOA News)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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New Procedure Could Get More TB Patients Treated

Study experiments with more convenient disease testing schedule Art Chimes from St. Louis, Missouri Mycobacterium tuberculosis © flick...