Kekkaku : [Tuberculosis]
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Kekkaku : [Tuberculosis] · Jan 2010
Fighting the tuberculosis epidemic in the Western Pacific region: current situation and challenges ahead.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health problem in the Western Pacific Region. More than 20% of the global burden of TB is found in the Region. In 2007, the latest year for which data is available, there were an estimated 1.9 million incident cases (109 per 100,000 population). Four countries (Cambodia, China, the Philippines and Vietnam) account for 93% of the total estimated incident cases in the Region. Every year an estimated 300 thousand persons die due to TB. The Region is host to an estimated 135,000 multi-drug resistant TB cases, most of which can be found in China. ⋯ In spite of the substantial progress made in most countries with a high burden of TB, substantial challenges remain in the Region. The rate of decline in TB prevalence and mortality is too low to reach the 50% reduction goal in 2010. It will be necessary to further increase TB case detection and address the emerging spread of drug-resistant TB. The slow response in the most affected countries in the Region is a cause for concern. Strong commitment by national governments and their partners is needed to sustain and further strengthen the current TB control efforts.