Reaching vulnerable groups key in fight against tuberculosis: Agency
NAN-F-46
Tuberculosis
Stockholm, March 20, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Health agencies on Monday said that Central Asian and European countries had recorded a drop in the number of tuberculosis cases.
The agencies, however, advised that the countries must ensure that vulnerable groups, like people infected with HIV, should not be overlooked.
“An estimated 323,000 cases of tuberculosis (TB) were recorded in 2015, the most recent year for which data was available.
“The number constituted a drop of 3.3 per cent in 2014,’’ Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Copenhagen-based European office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement.
The WHO region covers 53 countries from Armenia to Uzbekistan, including Russia and Turkey.
It said that in addition to it affecting the lungs, that TB can also affect other parts of the body.
It is estimated to be the leading cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide, ahead of HIV/AIDS.
According to the agencies, 18 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia accounted for most of the region’s 32,000 registered TB deaths.
To reduce infections, more efforts are needed to reach people living with HIV, as well as prisoners and migrants, the agencies said.
“One in three people co-infected with TB/HIV do not know about their status, which drastically lowers their chances of being cured,” Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director said.
The rise in drug-resistant forms of TB remained a concern.
Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia accounted for about one in five global cases, according to the data.
The findings were published ahead of World Tuberculosis Day, which is on March 24. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Abdullahi Yusuf