DRUG RESISTANT TB NEXT BIG HEALTH THREAT IN Submitted by admin on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 00:00
PNG
Major effort urged to stem tide
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Aug. 5, 2010) – PAPUA New Guinea’s gains in tuberculosis (TB) control over the last decade would be lost unless multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB, as well as TB-HIV co-infection are urgently addressed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned.
WHO says countries in the region, including PNG had made huge progress towards the regional goal of decreasing by half TB prevalence and mortality rates compared to 2000 levels. These successes may be reversed unless gaps in financial and technical support are put in place to effectively address these challenges, Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific said last week.