WHO Launches the Fourth Global Report surveillance of anti-TB drug resistance surveillance of anti-TB drug resistance
May 6th 2008
During the International Conference in Washington on February 27th it was launched the fourth report of the WHO on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Surveillance.
The report, elaborated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, includes the results of from 91,577 patients from 81 countries (including the ones from the WHO's European Region).
The data collected between 2002 and 2006 represents over 35% of the global total of notified new smear-positive TB cases.
Out of the 14 areas where the proportion of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is higher than 6%, 12 are countries belonging to the WHO's European Region, the other 2 are from China.
For instance, the present report documents the progresses registered in the decrease if the chemo resistant TB cases in Baltic States and in the same time, maintain some high levels of this type of resistance in the south Caucasian, Central Asia and Russian Federation.
In Romania, according to the data of the latest surveillance inquiry of the TB chemo resistance - elaborated during 2003-2004 - 3% of the new cases and 10% of the cases previous treated of TB are MDR-TB.
That's why the information provided by the WHO report can come up with new and valuable data for specialists in the field.
You can access the whole report in English at http://www.who.int/tb/publications/2008/drs_report4_26feb08.pdf
