A form of TB, MRD-TB is resistant to the first line of drugs formulated to fight the disease. On World TB Day March 24th, The World Health Organization (WHO) the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Stop TB Partnership are calling on world leaders to step up their commitment and contributions to meet the goal of diagnosing and treating one million people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis between 2011 and 2015.

In 2009, WHO reported that 9.4 million people became ill with TB and 1.7 million died, including 380 000 people with HIV-associated TB. There were some 440 000 cases of MDR-TB and 150,000 deaths in 2008, the latest year for which estimates are available.

Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund states:

“MDR-TB is a threat to all countries as it is difficult and expensive to treat. Unless we make an extraordinary effort to tackle this problem our ability to finance and secure continued progress against TB in general will be threatened.”

Leaving MDR-TB untreated increases the risk of spread of drug resistant strains of TB. WHO estimates there will be more than 2 million new cases of MDR-TB between 2011 and 2015.

Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General continues:

“Many countries have made progress, but despite the recent scale up in efforts, the world needs to do much more to get care to all MDR-TB patients who need it. We cannot allow MDR-TB to spread unchecked.”

Tuberculosis, MTB or TB, is a common and in some cases deadly infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacterium in humans. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air when people who have active MTB infection cough, sneeze, or spit. Most infections in humans result in an asymptomatic, latent infection, and about one in ten latent infections eventually progresses to active disease, which, if left untreated, kills more than 50% of its victims.

Programs financed by the celebrity driven Global Fund and following WHO treatment standards are expected to diagnose and treat about 200,000 people for MDR-TB by 2015, a fourfold increase from those 50,000 patients who are currently undergoing treatment.

Dr. Jorge Sampaio, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Stop TB adds:

“It is time for countries with rapidly growing economies and a heavy burden of MDR-TB to step up their commitment and financing for their own MDR-TB programs. Several have the capacity to show new leadership on south-south cooperation and aid to neighboring countries that are also affected.”

World TB Day is a campaign inspired by the ambitious new objectives and targets of the Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015: Transforming the Fight-Towards Elimination of Tuberculosis, which was launched by the Stop TB Partnership in October 2010. This new plan, for the first time, identifies all the research gaps that need to be filled to bring rapid TB tests, faster treatment regimens and a fully effective vaccine to market. It also shows public health programs how to drive universal access to TB care, including how to modernize diagnostic laboratories and adopt revolutionary TB tests that have recently become available.

The campaign will focus once again on individuals around the world who have found new ways to stop TB and can serve as an inspiration to others. The idea is to recognize people and organizations who have introduced a variety of innovations in a variety of settings.

Since 2009, the 23 countries most heavily affected by TB drug resistance have nearly doubled their budgets for MDR-TB. From 2002 through 2010, Global Fund-financed TB programs around the world have provided treatment to 7.7 million people and saved the lives of 4.1 million.

Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership concludes:

“The Global Fund’s success can be measured in the number of lives that have been saved through care provided by the TB programs it finances. Every TB patient should have access to proper care. We advocate on behalf of millions of patients worldwide and our strong partners such as WHO and the Global Fund. To reach a million people with effective care for MDR-TB over the next five years, we will need to work closely with all partners, especially with affected communities.”

Source: The Stop TB Partnership

Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.