FN-dagen for Tuberkulose holdes på den dystre baggrund, at multi-resistent (modstandsdygtig) tuberkulose er et voksende globalt problem. Alt for mange har sygdommen uden at vide det, selv om ny teknologi til hurtig diagnose har været afprøvet med en vis succes i 27 lande, skriver WHO.
GENEVA, 20 march 2014, (WHO): Almost half a million people fell ill with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2012, yet less than one in four of these people was diagnosed, mainly due to a lack of access to quality diagnostic services.
But with an innovative international project, 27 countries are making promising progress in diagnosing MDR-TB, says WHO in the lead-up to World TB Day, 24 March.
Antallet af diagnoser blev tredoblet
The project known as EXPAND-TB (Expanding Access to New Diagnostics for TB), financed by UNITAID, helped to triple the number of MDR-TB cases diagnosed in participating countries.
“Earlier and faster diagnosis of all forms of TB is vital,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “It improves the chances of people getting the right treatment and being cured, and it helps stop spread of drug-resistant disease.”
The theme for World TB Day 2014 is “Reach the 3 Million”. One third of the estimated nine million people falling ill with TB each year do not get the care they need.
In many countries, it is hard for people to access diagnostic services – particularly for MDR-TB.
Some countries have only one central laboratory, which often has limited capacity to diagnose MDR-TB.
In some cases, patient samples have to be sent to other countries for testing. Moreover, traditional diagnostic tests can take more than 2 months to get results.
Lovende forsøg med ny teknologi i 27 lande
But the situation is beginning to change. New technologies can rapidly diagnose TB and drug-resistant TB in as little as two hours.
“The MDR-TB story is being transformed by a fertile mix of collaborators, including those working on access to diagnosis,” says Philippe Meunier, the French Government’s Ambassador for the fight against HIV/AIDS and communicable (smitsomme) diseases.
“Increased capacity and reduced prices mean more patients can be served, and global health risks would be diminished,” added he.
In 2009, UNITAID provided 87 million US dollar to support the EXPAND-TB multi-partner project to enable effective and sustained access, and use of recommended new TB diagnostic technologies in 27 low- and middle-income countries.
These countries together carry 40 per cent of the estimated global MDR-TB burden.
Flere nye laboratorier og billigere medicin
Læs mere på: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/tb-day/en/
