Editorials

Fight against TB continues

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-25 07:40

World TB Day fell on Thursday and is a reminder that tuberculosis remains an epidemic in much of the world causing the death of several million a year, mostly in developing countries.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health reveal that there are 5 million registered TB patients in China. But the number of people that have contracted the TB bacteria has been estimated at 500 million, 45 percent of the total population.

But it is not so much the tuberculosis itself, as the lack of awareness, that poses the real threat to the effective prevention of an epidemic.

Most people take it for granted that TB is not a fatal disease and some even consider it not a big deal to contract the bacteria.

What makes the situation worse is the fact that the method used to diagnose TB is still the same as that used 130 years ago. The vaccines we use against TB were invented 90 years ago and the medicines we use 45 years ago.

That explains why the campaign this year focuses on individuals around the world who are developing new ways to stop the spread of TB as we need new diagnostics, new drugs and new vaccines to better prevent us from being infected by the bacteria.

The ratio of deaths from TB is the second only to that of AIDS for contagious diseases in China. There is no reason for Chinese people to relax their vigilance against this epidemic.

Neither is there reason for medical workers to take it for granted that there is not much that they can do to stop the spread of the bacteria.

TB symptoms are not as explicit as they used to be, so it is not easy for patients to ascertain that they have contracted TB and for doctors to make the right diagnosis and thus the best time to cure patients of the disease is often missed.

The TB bacteria is developing resistance to the drugs doctors prescribe to kill them. That many patients lack the patience and perseverance to take the drugs as long as required has added to the bacteria's drug resistance.

In China, TB patients get free treatment in specialized hospitals. Yet, some hospitals deliberately delay referring TB patients to specialized hospitals for the sake of profits. This has added to the difficulties in effectively containing TB.

More publicity is needed to build public awareness that they should not neglect even minor symptoms that suggest the possibility of TB, and a mechanism needs to be established so that medical workers refer TB patients to specialized hospitals promptly.

Greater efforts also need to be made to stop the spread of the disease.

The fight against TB is far from over.

(China Daily 03/25/2011 page8)