China takes lead in battle against TB
Updated
Once thought to be a beaten disease, tuberculosis is making a dangerous comeback, with most cases worldwide found in Asia.
Earlier this month, a meeting in Beijing brought together officials from 27 countries affected by TB, in a bid to head off a crisis. China aims to take the lead - and the Gates Foundation is joining in, with multi-million dollar support to kick-start an ambitious program.
Presenter: Matthew Abud
Speakers: Professor Adrian Sleigh from the Australian National University; Bill Gates Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
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MATTHEW ABUD: Around 9.3 million people contract tuberculosis every year, according to the World Health Organization. About 2 million cases are in India, China comes second with 1.3 million, followed by Indonesia and Nigeria. But a big worry now is the number of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases, with 500,000 patients globally and over 100,000 in China alone. Dr Margaret Chan from the WHO says this could lead to a disastrous epidemic.
MARGARET CHAN: This is a situation set to spiral out of control. Call it what you may, a time bomb, or a powder keg. Any way you look at it this is a potentially explosive situation.
MATTHEW ABUD: Health ministers from 27 countries with high levels of TB were at the Beijing meeting and the aim is to galvanise action. Dr Katsunori Osuga is a medical officer from the WHO's regional headquarters in Manila. He says before the Beijing meeting there wasn't enough political will to tackle the problem.
KATSUNORI OSUGA: It's a very quiet, silent, spreading illness so nobody really pays attention, including governments and media. Unlike SARS epidemic where, you know, media coverage and government responses, it was huge. So the danger is when we realise it could be just all over around us and it could be too late. So now is the time.
MATTHEW ABUD: If drug-resistant TB takes off, its death toll could go back to pre-antibiotic levels and become one of the world's top killers. China is clear the disease plays a major threat and wants to take the lead tackling it. China's vice-premier Lee Keqiang.
LEE KEQIANG: Tuberculosis is currently one of the three most deadly diseases in China. Prevention presents a difficult challenge, especially drug-resistant strains.
MATTHEW ABUD: The measures on trial to improve treatment include new drugs and testing systems to pick up drug-resistant TB strains. There's also an initiative to use mobile phone SMS messages to ensure TB patients follow their treatment regimes. TB is just one part of China's health initiatives. In January, Beijing announced US$130 billion would be spent to upgrade its health system. Vice Premier Lee has said boosting health is a key response to the global financial crisis which has thrown millions out of work with little in the way of a safety net to catch them. Professor Adrian Sleigh at the Australian National University's Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health says China's health system is catching up after years of neglect when the government prioritised growth above all health.
ADRIAN SLEIGH: For the period 1980 to, let's say, about 2004, 2005, the Chinese let their health system wither away and the public-supported health system which had been a model for the rest of the developing world gradually disappeared. For the last 25 years, up to 2005, people have not had access to health care, they've used it late, they've used it not at all, if they have used it it's bankrupted them and if they have used it it's often been ineffective.
MATTHEW ABUD: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was also in Beijing and pledged $33 million over five years to help China's efforts. Foundation co-chairman Bill Gates:
BILL GATES: This project is about TB treatment and using the new innovative techniques and we thought China would be a great place to do this because of their commitment and the scale in which it could be done.
MATTHEW ABUD: With countries now giving more focus to the issue, many believe the Asia Pacific is primed to act together against TB and prevent an old disease from becoming a new and dangerous threat. Professor Sleigh again:
PROFESSOR SLEIGH: The intention is there and tuberculosis is not a secret, there's no national security issues involved. China has taken the lead. Most of the other countries in surrounding areas, they've all improved their health systems quite substantially in the last 20 years and I think they're ready to make this next move.
