March 24, 2011
Tuberculosis looks intent to make a comeback following a big increase in cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Australia over the past few years, an Australian health care expert warned .
"The trend has been an increase in multi-drug resistant TB in Australia over the last 10 years, which is worrying," Dr Bernadette Saunders, from Sydney's Centenary Institute, said to mark World TB Day on Thursday.
Saunders has worked in the field of mycobacterial research for over 10 years. She has extensive experience investigating the immunology, pathology and genetics of tuberculosis disease.
"Many people thought tuberculosis would just disappear over time but, really, TB levels have been rising since the 1990s,"she said.
"It's a disease that we need to be aware of, certainly in terms of MDR-TB and, in the last few years, there has been what we call 'XDRs' which are extreme-drug resistant strains," she added.
There was a 30 percent rise in Australian cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) from 2007 to 2009, while in 2010 the nation recorded another rare case of even harder to kill XDR- TB.
About 1,200 TB cases diagnosed in Australia each year, and the proportion of MDR-TB infections seen in Australia has risen steadily - up from just eight cases in 2000 to 24 in 2007, and 31 in 2009.
About a quarter of all people infected with MDR-TB globally die from it - more than double the mortality rate of non-resistant TB.
Around the world, about eight to nine million new cases of TB infection are reported each year, with about 1.7 million deaths.
"It is a major, major health issue, across the globe," Saunders said.
"In some parts of the world levels of multi-drug resistance is very high and if we're not vigilant, and continue to work very hard, to keep drug resistance low and treat people who are multi- drug resistant, there is a strong potential for it to spread," she said.
Source: Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90880/7330447.html
Tuberculosis looks intent to make a comeback following a big increase in cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Australia over the past few years, an Australian health care expert warned .
"The trend has been an increase in multi-drug resistant TB in Australia over the last 10 years, which is worrying," Dr Bernadette Saunders, from Sydney's Centenary Institute, said to mark World TB Day on Thursday.
Saunders has worked in the field of mycobacterial research for over 10 years. She has extensive experience investigating the immunology, pathology and genetics of tuberculosis disease.
"Many people thought tuberculosis would just disappear over time but, really, TB levels have been rising since the 1990s,"she said.
"It's a disease that we need to be aware of, certainly in terms of MDR-TB and, in the last few years, there has been what we call 'XDRs' which are extreme-drug resistant strains," she added.
There was a 30 percent rise in Australian cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) from 2007 to 2009, while in 2010 the nation recorded another rare case of even harder to kill XDR- TB.
About 1,200 TB cases diagnosed in Australia each year, and the proportion of MDR-TB infections seen in Australia has risen steadily - up from just eight cases in 2000 to 24 in 2007, and 31 in 2009.
About a quarter of all people infected with MDR-TB globally die from it - more than double the mortality rate of non-resistant TB.
Around the world, about eight to nine million new cases of TB infection are reported each year, with about 1.7 million deaths.
"It is a major, major health issue, across the globe," Saunders said.
"In some parts of the world levels of multi-drug resistance is very high and if we're not vigilant, and continue to work very hard, to keep drug resistance low and treat people who are multi- drug resistant, there is a strong potential for it to spread," she said.
Source: Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90880/7330447.html
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