• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

WHO warns of increase in drug-resistant TB

Infection Control Monitor, June 8, 2007

The World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that tuberculosis (TB) may reach the point where most new cases in some countries are resistant to many drugs unless health officials take far greater efforts to stop the spread of the disease, reported The New York Times.

The news conference held by WHO officials June 5 was prompted by the case of Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta attorney with extremely drug-resistant TB who set off an international health scare when he took two long-distance commercial flights potentially exposing other passengers to the dangerous infection. That case focused attention on TB and WHO officials said the extremely resistant form of the disease has been reported in 37 countries.

About 5% of the estimated 8.8 million new case of TB in the world are now resistant to many standard drugs used to treat the illness, WHO officials said. An area of great concern is Africa, where AIDS patients often develop TB. Other areas of concern are China, Eastern Europe, and India.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive