TUBERCULOSIS: Research centre on tuberculosis to be set up at Universiti Malaysia Sabah

January 11, 2011 KOTA KINABALU: A Tuberculosis Research Centre will be set up at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in collaboration with the Health Department and the Republic of Korea’s Zero TB World.
The centre, ‘Community TB Centre’ (CTC), will address the increasing number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the country.
Sabah is on record as having the highest TB notification rate of 110 cases per 100,000 population.
The CTC would act as a one-stop-centre, providing treatment, diagnosis and research on TB.
According to the Vice Chancellor of UMS, Brigadier General Prof Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, the Ministry of Health has classified TB as the second highest prevalence of all infectious diseases in the country.
“We aim to reduce the mortality, morbidity and transmission of the disease until it is no longer a threat to public health,” he said at the signing of the Letter of Intent between UMS and Zero TB World at the university here yesterday.
Kamaruzaman’s speech was read by UMS Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Prof Dr Rosmah Ismail.
Also present were the Dean of the School of Medicine Prof Dr Osman Ali, Dr Richard Avoi of the Health Department, Zero TB World vice-president Dr Kim Sung Jin and Zero TB World general vice president Won In-Sik.
Kamaruzaman added that UMS would also strive to prevent the development of drug resistance which was a major obstacle in the control of TB.
Meanwhile, Osman said the collaboration between UMS and Zero TB World, which is a non-governmental organisation, was to make possible the reduction of TB cases in Sabah.
“Zero TB World was interested to collaborate with UMS because Sabah has the highest number of TB cases than any other state in Malaysia and they could learn and try to reduce TB cases here in the country.
“They want to introduce their model as they have managed to reduce or bring down TB cases in Korea to a very low level,” he said, adding that the organisation has helped countries around the world to combat TB to achieve the millennium development goal set by the World Health Organisation of halving the incidence of TB by 2015.
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