LIFE> Health
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LIFE> Health
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An old scourge returns
By Wen Chihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-12 10:03 According to Wang, among the remaining 100,000 patients, 815 tested HIV positive. In 2005, when a TB test was given to 6,000 people with HIV, more than 400 were found infected with TB. At present, the number of TB/HIV co-infections in China is estimated at 312,000. Although the actual figures of fatality rate for the co-infections are not available, the low HIV testing among TB patients, or TB screening for those with HIV, is contributing to high mortality rates. China's large population of migrant workers - some 200 million - also poses a great challenge in the fight against TB, Wang adds. TB can be transmitted when someone with the disease coughs, expelling the bacteria. "Migrant workers are quite prone to TB due to their crowded living conditions, their high mobility, and economic difficulties," Wang says. "One active TB patient can infect 10-15 people." In China, 80 percent of TB patients are from rural areas. Wang adds the increase in the number of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases seriously hinders the country's TB epidemic control campaign. In fact, "MDR-TB has already become a major public health problem and social issue," warned Health Minister Chen Zhu at a recent international ministerial meeting on MDR-TB in Beijing. A national baseline survey (2007-2008) on drug resistant TB suggested that the percentage of MDR-TB had hit 8.32 percent. China has an estimated 120,000 new MDR-TB cases a year and 80 percent of them are rural patients aged between 20 and 50. Despite the obstacles, the health authorities have already completed a plan on how to keep the MDR-TB pandemic at bay. Meanwhile, according to Wang, a related pilot program is being undertaken in some regions with high TB prevalence. The original TB vaccine, BCG, now 80 years old, is unable to effectively control the epidemic. What is desperately needed is to develop a new TB vaccine regimen that can prevent not only newborn babies, but also adults, especially those infected with HIV, from contracting the disease, says Dr Sadoff. |
