[health-vn] WHO records increase in HIV-related TB deaths than past estimates

[Vern Weitzel]

Subject: [AIDS-Beyond-Borders] WHO records increase in HIV-related TB deaths 
than past estimates
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:51:01 +0530
From: josee alex <joseemoon at gmail.com>
Reply-To: AIDS-Beyond-Borders at googlegroups.com
To: AIDS-Beyond-Borders at googlegroups.com <AIDS-Beyond-Borders at googlegroups.com>


www.pharmabiz.com
Rio De Janeiro

The total number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases remained stable in
2007, and the percentage of the world's population becoming ill with
TB has continued the slow decline that was first observed in 2004,
according to a new report released by WHO.

However, the 2009 global TB control report also reveals that one out
of four TB deaths is HIV-related, twice as many as previously
recognized. In 2007, there were an estimated 1.37 million new cases of
tuberculosis among HIV-infected people and 456 000 deaths. This figure
reflects an improvement in the quality of the country data, which are
now more representative and available from more countries than in
previous years.

"These findings point to an urgent need to find, prevent and treat TB
in people living with HIV and to test for HIV in all patients with TB
in order to provide prevention, treatment and care. Countries can only
do that through stronger collaborative programmes and stronger health
systems that address both diseases," said Dr Margaret Chan,
director-general of WHO.

The report reveals a sharp increase in HIV testing among people being
treated for TB, especially in Africa. In 2004, just four per cent of
TB patients in the region were tested for HIV; in 2007 that number
rose to 37 per cent, with several countries testing more than 75 per
cent of TB patients for their HIV status.

Because of increased testing for HIV among TB patients, more people
are getting appropriate treatment though the numbers still remain a
small fraction of those in need. In 2007, 200 000 HIV-positive TB
patients were enrolled on co-trimoxazole treatment to prevent
opportunistic infections and 100 000 were on antiretroviral therapy.

"We have to stop people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis,"
said Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS. "Universal access to
HIV prevention, treatment, care and support must include TB
prevention, diagnosis and treatment. When HIV and TB services are
combined, they save lives."

TB/HIV co-infection and drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis present
the greatest challenges, the report says. In 2007 an estimated 500 000
people had multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), but less than one per cent
of them were receiving treatments that was known to be based on WHO's
recommended standards.

Given the current financial crisis, the report documents concerns over
an increasing shortage in funding. Ninety-four countries in which 93
per cent of the world's TB cases occur provided complete financial
data for the report. To meet the 2009 milestones in the Stop TB
Partnership's Global Plan to Stop TB, the funding shortfall for these
94 countries has risen to about US$ 1.5 billion. Full funding of the
Global Plan will achieve its aim of halving TB prevalence and deaths
compared with 1990 levels by 2015.

"We have made remarkable progress against both TB and HIV in the last
few years. But, TB still kills more people with HIV than any other
disease," said Dr Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. "The financial crisis
must not derail the implementation of the Global Plan to Stop TB. Now
is the time to scale-up financing for effective interventions for the
prevention, treatment and care of TB worldwide."

The release of the report coincides with World TB Day and a
1500-strong gathering at the 3rd Stop TB Partners' Forum in Rio de
Janeiro. Next week health leaders and ministers will gather in Beijing
in a meeting organized by WHO, the Ministry of Health of the People's
Republic of China and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with the aim
of securing commitments to actions and funding for drug-resistant TB.