*EPF119 03/24/2003
U.S. Health Officials Reaffirm Commitment to Conquering TB
(Optimism about defeating "age old killer" comes on World TB Day) (660)

By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Top health officials in the U.S. government expressed their commitment to fighting tuberculosis both at home and abroad on World TB Day March 24.

"We have TB killing more people than any other infectious agent," said Dr. E. Anne Peterson, assistant administrator of the Bureau for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She cited statistics that tuberculosis kills about 2 million people worldwide each year. One-third of deaths among people living with AIDS are actually caused by TB, as their weakened immune systems fail to combat the disease-causing bacteria.

At a news briefing, U.S. government health leaders expressed satisfaction that 2002 was a milestone in the battle against tuberculosis, once known as consumption. Last year marked the tenth consecutive year of declines in reported cases of the disease in the United States.

Despite that achievement, "We must maintain our vigilance and our vigor," said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson.

TB made an ugly resurgence in this country and other developed nations starting in the mid-1980s, belying the belief that the effective drugs discovered in the mid-20th century had disqualified TB as a major public health risk.

Drugs have become less effective in many cases as the bacteria have become resistant to them. The discovery of mutidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) has renewed interest in research to find improved drugs and a vaccine to better contain this infectious disease.

"Major recent breakthroughs offer much promise" in development of a vaccine, said Dr. Kenneth Castro of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The highly infectious nature of the bacteria and its capability to don its own biochemical armor against previously effective drugs are just two reasons why U.S. health officials recognize that they must help reduce the occurrence of the disease in the countries where it is most prevalent.

"As far as disease goes, we're working in a borderless society, and we need to acknowledge that," said Peterson.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is an international collaborative effort launched in January 2002 to address infectious diseases in new ways. Thompson, who also serves in 2003 as the chairman of the Global Fund, said that the United States is the greatest single donor to the fund. Including allocations already made and pledges made for the future, Thompson said the United States has made a $1,650 million commitment to the fund. It operates by offering grants to underwrite disease fighting projects proposed by nations and communities most seriously affected.

Beside that international commitment, Thompson said the United States has also entered bilateral agreements to address TB. Health officials in the state of Texas are working with counterparts across the border in Mexico to reduce the occurrence of tuberculosis and to successfully treat those who have it, the health secretary said. As individuals move back and forth across the U.S.-Mexican border, they can easily fall off the prolonged treatment regimen that is necessary to effectively beat TB. The failure of patients to complete that regimen properly can lead to the development of MDR-TB, which becomes even more difficult to treat.

Thompson also described a partnership between U.S. medical researchers and their Russian colleagues devoted to development of a microchip-based method for diagnosing drug resistant TB. Thompson said the project aims to develop a low-cost, easy-to-use diagnostic kit to replace what is now a lengthy process.

The World Health Organization officially declared TB a global health emergency in 1993, a declaration that resulted in a more aggressive campaign against the disease. In the ensuing decade, 10 million people have been successfully treated with DOTS, or directly observed short-course therapy, widely viewed as the most effective treatment course for tuberculosis.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents