by PNA
The World Health Organization in the Western Pacific called on its member states to accelerate the fight against tuberculosis on the eve of the World TB Day which falls on March 24.
"Despite successes, the
TB burden in the Western Pacific remains unacceptably high with more than 1.3 million people diagnosed and 260,000 deaths each year," Shin Young-soo,
WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said here Thursday.
"Countries need to strengthen their health systems to prevent the development and spread of tuberculosis, especially multidrug- resistant TB (MDR-TB)," he said.
Worldwide, tuberculosis is the second top infectious killer. In 2011, 8.4 million people contracted and 1.4 million died of the disease.
Twenty-two countries carry 80 percent of the burden of TB, and four of those are in the Western Pacific Region -- Cambodia, China,
the Philippines and Vietnam.
The TB death rate in the Region has fallen by 63 percent since the 1990, and the number of deaths is also declining. Nevertheless, major challenges threaten to derail efforts to control and eliminate tuberculosis in the Region, WHO said in a report.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=48625.0
Topic: World TB Day is on March 24 2012 (Read 508 times)