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Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System --------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 17 Oct 2006 Title: Drug resistant TB threat in fight against AIDS --------------------------------------------------------------- By Nozipho Dlamini and Silindiwe Dube Pretoria - The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) poses specific threats and challenges in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Tuberculosis is the most common opportunistic infection accelerating HIV infection among those living with the virus. Experts have said HIV has the potential to speed up XDR-TB infections into an uncontrollable epidemic unless infection control precautions are scaled up without delay. According to a WHO TB expert, Dr Teguest Guerma, the lung disease also threatens the considerable progress many countries have made towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Dr Guerma was addressing the Department of Health's two-day workshop on the perspective of HIV and XDR-TB. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang had requested the meeting for the WHO experts to help review national and regional strategies and action plans to deal with the multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and XDR-TB. This after XDR-TB cases were reported in several provinces in the country. More than 60 patients have since died from the killer disease in Tugela Ferry in KwaZulu-Natal. Dr Guerma warned that XDR-TB would not in most parts of the world be solved unless HIV was properly considered. "HIV and TB programmes should have a close and a real collaboration," she said. WHO Director for the Stop TB initiative, Mario Raviglione, said the lung disease had killed 1.6 million people in 2005, 98 percent of who were in developing countries. In addition, 8.9 million new cases were detected last year. About 80 percent of those were detected in the 22 highly-burdened countries including South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Dr Raviglione said the main challenges in this regard were that the Directly Observed Therapy Strategy (DOTS) had not been fully expanded in high quality in some countries, with weak health systems and services impending proper control and care. "Another challenge is that not all practitioners are engaged in dealing with this, and communities are unaware and uninvolved in activities and discussions around TB," he said. He also urged pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to do research that would produce new tools to deal with TB. WHO AFRO regional advisor, Wilfred Nkhoma said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was the most affected region by the MDR-TB but the extent of the burden was unknown. However, Mr Nkhoma commended South Africa for being the first country to roll-out a TB crisis plan after the disease was declared an emergency in the region at a meeting in Maputo last year. Department's director general, Thami Mseleku concurred with Dr Raviglione in calling pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to correct the gap with respect to new TB drugs and TB diagnostic tests. "We need to revise our strategies to ensure early detection of resistant strains and have a surveillance system in place to monitor the resistance patterns," he said. On Wednesday, the panel of expects will look at strengthening TB programmes management, laboratory services, surveillance, infection control, access to rational treatment and communication strategies. - BuaNews |
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