Vol 39 # 2 June 2007 - Kma.org.kw

206WHO-Facts Sheet June 2007TB and HIV prevention, diagnostic, treatment andc a re services”, said Dr Peter Piot, ExecutiveDirector of UNAIDS.Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB): T h espread of XDR-TB poses a serious threat to progressand could even reverse recent gains. “We have aclear plan on how to control XDR-TB, but countriesare moving far too slowly on implementing thisplan. Funding is an issue as well. It will take anadditional US$ 650 million globally to implementcontrol of both XDR-TB and multi-drug-resistantTB (MDR-TB) in 2007 alone,” said Dr MarioRaviglione, Director of the WHO Stop TBDepartment. “Beyond that, because of the threat ofXDR-TB, re s e a rch to identify new diagnostics,drugs and vaccines is more vital than ever.”Overall funding gap: Although funds for TBcontrol have risen substantially since 2002, reachingUS$ 2 billion, an additional US$ 1.1 billion will beneeded to meet the 2007 funding requirements setby the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015). A total ofUS$ 56 billion, half of which should be funded byendemic countries and the other half by donors, isneeded for the 10-year plan, but current fundingcommitments indicate a gap of at least US$ 31billion.Lack of infrastructure and capacity: In mostcountries with a high burden of TB, efforts to fightTB are impeded by inadequate laboratory facilitiesand critical shortages of health staff.Should a sustained downward trend in the TBepidemic develop, it is likely that the MillenniumDevelopment Goal of achieving a decrease in thenumber of tuberculosis cases per year will besatisfied years in advance of the 2015 target. Butmuch more rapid progress is needed for countriesto meet the targets in the Global Plan to Stop TB: tohalve 1990 TB case numbers and deaths from thedisease by 2015.The Report finds that the WHO Regions of theAmericas, South-East Asia and the Western Pacificare now on track to meet their 2015 Global PlanTargets; while the African, Eastern Mediterraneanand European regions are not. WHO’s 2005 targetsof 70% case detection and 85% cure were narrowlymissed globally: case detection was 60% andtreatment success was 84%.Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and Extensivelydrug-resistant TB (XDR-TB):TB can usually be treated with a course of fourstandard, or first-line, anti-TB drugs. If these drugsare misused or mismanaged, multidrug-resistantTB (MDR-TB) can develop. MDR-TB takes longer tot reat with second-line drugs, which are moreexpensive and have more side-effects. XDR-TB candevelop when these second-line drugs are alsomisused or mismanaged and therefore also becomeineffective. Because XDR-TB is resistant to first- andsecond-line drugs, treatment options are seriouslylimited and the risk of death is extremely high. BothMDR-TB and XDR-TB can be spread from person toperson.The Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), launchedby the Stop TB Partnership (www.stoptb.org) inJanuary 2006, sets forth a roadmap for treating 50million people for TB and enrolling 3 millionpatients who have both TB and HIV ona n t i re t roviral therapy over the next 10 years,saving about 14 million lives. It aims to halve TBprevalence and deaths compared with 1990 levelsby 2015.For more information contact: Geneva/New York:Glenn Thomas, Communications Officer, WHO StopTB Department, mobile +41 79 509 0677, email:thomasg@who.int5. WORLD MOVES CLOSER TOERADICATING ANCIENT WORM DISEASEA neglected tropical disease that has afflictedpeople since ancient times has moved a step closertowards eradication. In early March, twelve morecountries were declared Guinea Worm Free by theInternational Commission for the Certification ofDracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease) Eradication.If progress continues at this rate, in less than 2 yearsGuinea Worm could become the second diseaseafter Smallpox to be pushed into oblivion.In the early 1980s, an estimated 3 million peoplein more than 20 countries were affected byDracunculiasis, more commonly re f e r red to asGuinea Worm Disease. Today, that number hassignificantly dropped to about 25,000 cases in 9countries. “This is the culmination of years of effortby local and international groups to see this diseaseeradicated,” says Dr Lorenzo Savioli, Director ofNeglected Tropical Diseases at the World HealthO rganization. Since its creation in 1995, theCommission has certified 180 countries as free ofGuinea Worm . The Commission is now movingcloser to its 2009 deadline for eradication of thedisease worldwide.WHO Certifies Twelve More Countries as GuineaWorm FreeThe Sixth Meeting of the InternationalCommission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis