World Stop TB Day - 24 March 2007

World Stop TB Day - 24 March 2007

March 23, 2007

Message From Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative in China


    BEIJING, March 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- World Stop
Tuberculosis (TB) Day is an important occasion and this
year's theme - Drug-resistant TB: Treat it.  Prevent it -
is a vital reminder of the challenges that remain in
China's fight against TB.

    In China, TB ranks number one among notified infectious
diseases and around 1.4 million people across China develop
active TB each year. 

    The world must work together to stop drug-resistant TB
now, if we are to prevent a rapid escalation of extensively
drug resistant TB - a form of TB that is resistant to nearly
all available TB drugs, that has been emerging around the
world.

    While China has 15 per cent of global TB cases, it has
30 per cent of the multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB cases. 
There are an estimated 200,000 MDR-TB cases with up to
60,000 new reported cases each year. 

    In recent years the Chinese Government has been
aggressive in its fight against TB and important progress
has been made. China has done extremely well in achieving
the 2005 global TB control targets of reaching 70 per cent
TB detection and maintaining high cure rates in non-drug
resistant cases.  

    China has now pledged to halve the prevalence and
mortality of TB by 2010.  Meeting this target involves
tackling some important challenges - including tackling
MDR-TB, further improving the quality of the DOTS
programme, reaching out to migrant workers and managing the
intersection of TB with HIV/AIDS.

    A key aspect of reducing drug resistance TB prevalence
around the world is strengthening systems for early
diagnosis and effective treatment

    China is improving the system for detecting and
treating drug-resistant TB.  China has initiated a
management strategy for MDR-TB and this must be quickly
expanded to ensure universal access to treatment for
patients with MDR-TB.  Key to this is ensuring genuinely
free testing and quality treatment.  China is further
strengthening surveillance to detect cases of
drug-resistant TB and has launched a national drug
resistance survey.  

    WHO is supporting China to fight TB through technical
expertise, advising of international good practices and
facilitating access to funding for high quality TB drugs. 

    China has shown enormous commitment in fighting TB.  If
China shows the same commitment to tackling the challenges
of drug-resistant TB in the future, China will greatly
advance the global fight against TB.

    Dr Henk Bekedam
    WHO Representative in China


    For more information, please contact:

     Joanna Brent, 
     Communications Team Leader, 
     WHO China
     Tel:    [phone] x646 
     Mobile: [phone]