In a statement released today from its Western Pacific regional headquarters in Manila, the World Health Organization said many countries in Asia and the Pacific lack the basic laboratory capacity to monitor and manage multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
In the region, less than 1 percent of MDR-TB cases are laboratory-confirmed and officially reported, WHO said. In 2006, just 600 of the estimated 150,000 MDR-TB cases in East Asia and the Pacific were officially notified by a "quality-assured laboratory," the statement said.
Cambodia and the Philippines have just three laboratories each with the capacity to diagnose MDR-TB, WHO said. "Laboratories have long been neglected, suffering from a shortage of funds, trained personnel, and quality assurance systems," said Pieter Van Maaren, WHO regional adviser for TB and leprosy.
"The spread of [MDR-TB] is every TB program's nightmare. One case can take up to two years to treat with drugs that have serious side effects and cost 100 times more than the regular regimen of drugs," WHO said.
"Outbreaks of [MDR-TB] are going unnoticed constantly," said Shigeru Omi, WHO's regional director. "We are worried this silent epidemic could set us back years. We could lose the gains made in recent years."
03/19/08
Lack of Labs Fueling Spread of Resistant TB in Asia: World Health Organization
Source: Agence France Presse; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention