19th March, 2018
WHO on Monday urged Central Asian and European countries to step up measures to reduce their numbers of tuberculosis cases, in a plea from two health agencies.
An estimated 297,000 cases of tuberculosis (TB) were recorded in 2016, the most recent year for which data was available in the region.
Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director, said the drop was an improvement on figures seen in the past decade, but not large enough to achieve the targeted goals of eradicating the epidemic by 2030.
“We need to revamp political commitment at all levels to achieve tangible and immediate results that change and save the lives of all those people suffering from TB today and ensure a TB-free world for our children tomorrow,’’ Jakab said.
Proposed measures included deploying new diagnostic technologies, more research, and improving access to new medicines and shorter treatment regimens.
According to the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Copenhagen-based European office of the WHO, drug-resistant forms of TB remain a threat.
The WHO region covers 53 countries ranging from Iceland to Uzbekistan, including Russia and Turkey.
In addition to affecting the lungs, TB can also affect other parts of the body.
The WHO estimated that 10.4 million people worldwide fell ill with TB in 2016, which in that year, TB claimed 1.7 million deaths, including 400,000 cases among people with HIV.
The European region accounted for three per cent of global TB cases.
The findings were published ahead of World Tuberculosis Day, which is on Saturday.