TB-resistant strains silently creeping in Asia-Pacific
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Tuberculosis (TB), as one of the major causes of deaths in the world, is again taking a new wave of attacking the Asia-Pacific region. The Philippines is indeed alarmed of this situation as the country has long before suffered from many cases Filipino TB patients who have died due to poor facilities and lack of monitoring equipment in determining the severity of their conditions.
What remains a problem in the Philippines is only a representation of what is currently being faced by the Asia-Pacific region. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a new breed of drug-resistant strains of TB are being passed on to more people unchecked due to insufficient facilities that would track and monitor the spread of the disease.
As this happens, this is posing a global threat to all uninfected population in the Asia-Pacific. Dr. Shigeru Omi, WHO regional director, in a statement in Manila, said this silent epidemic could lash our backs in the coming years. The situation at present is an alarming scene that could infect many people in no time.
Up to this day, many nations in the Asia-Pacific are somewhat blinded on the ways and means to combat the multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). Even the rich countries in the region are not prepared about the threat of the drug-resistant TB and most lack the capacity in monitoring the spread and treatment of the disease. As a result, majority of the cases are left untreated and undetected.
This is truly a pain in the neck since several types of medicines in the market are inefficient to pin down the strains of the TB bacteria.
What is worse is that an infected TB patient who is left untreated can spread the disease to at least 15 uninfected people by merely coughing, sneezing or simply at close contact. Even flight passengers may be infected as one TB patient coughs. A terrible thing to happen, indeed.
What remains the serious problem is the inadequate laboratory support and the inability of the health experts to determine what potent drugs to give the patients. Even the WHO has no idea of the extent of the problem among nations in the region.
Funding is necessary for the costly and complex laboratory culture methods in the bacteria specimens. Most developing countries don’t have such facilities for quality-assured laboratories for TB patients.
In 2006, out of the 150,000 MDR-TB cases in East Asia and the Pacific, only 600 patients were given remedy in a specialized laboratory.
Among the countries that badly needed some culture method laboratories are Cambodia, the Philippines, Mongolia, Soviet Union and Papua New Guinea. Even China has no sufficient number of quality-assured laboratories.
Certainly, this existing problem on TB is next to desperate case since the worldwide threat is prospering and there is no solution that is being found as of press time.
Sooner or later as we become too lax of the possible treatments for TB-resistant strains, news will be claiming TB epidemic in all corners of the world. I hope the rich nations will be alarmed what the Asia-Pacific region is going through and will provide assistance in looking for a drug to cure and solve the spread of the disease.
