The Haunting Face Of An Old Plague
By Dr Shigeru Omi
WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific
Every day, millions of people travel on planes, crisscrossing countries and continents. And every day some unknowingly rub shoulders with people infected with tuberculosis (TB), a disease that can be spread by coughing.
Last year, an international health scare arose when a U.S. citizen with extensively drug-resistant TB traveled to Europe. U.S. health authorities followed up 100 such cases over the year. A similar case involving a patient from Taiwan, China, also prompted health officials to scramble after fellow passengers.
Such concern is understandable. Extensively drug-resistant TB is a stubborn enemy. It is extremely difficult and costly to control. And it is deadly when co-infected with HIV. In Tugela Ferry, South Africa, 52 of 53 patients died. No one wants such a disease at their doorstep.
This is the reality of TB today. In an age in which diseases can be rapidly spread across the planet and strains of TB are becoming more resistant to standard drugs, the public health security threat from TB is more real than ever.
In the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region, which covers East Asia and the Pacific, TB remains the leading infectious disease killer among adults.
As health ministry officials from countries with a high TB burden, global TB experts and donor agency representatives meet in Tokyo on 22 July to plan our best defence against TB, it is worth emphasizing why investment in TB control is of paramount importance.
To me, personally, TB also holds special significance. A decade ago, when I was nominated as the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, I wanted to determine what my priority should be – dengue fever, hepatitis B or the growing concern of noncommunicable, or lifestyle, diseases? I consulted with Member States and developed a dialogue with health ministers. I found an overwhelming consensus that our flagship programme should be tuberculosis.
Why did Member States give me the mandate to tackle TB? Clearly, they understood that the Region – home to more than 1.8 billion people – accounted for one third of the global TB burden. At that time, TB caused 1000 deaths a day, far more than the 160 deaths a day from AIDS and 40 deaths from malaria. And TB does not just kill. It impoverishes families by striking breadwinners and consuming precious resources.
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