Thread: Studies Illustrate Growing Tuberculosis Problem in World

http://www.10news.com/health/4578504/de ... 72005&ts=H

Studies Illustrate Growing Tuberculosis Problem
Multidrug-Resistant Cases Continue To Flourish In U.S.

POSTED: 7:32 am PDT June 7, 2005

CHICAGO -- Studies show that tuberculosis cases around the world are on the rise despite global efforts to drastically cut instances of the disease.

The World Health Organization wants to cut tuberculosis cases and deaths from the disease in half between 1990 and 2015, and the disease is not as common in the United States as it used to be.

However, several reports in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association show that TB still affects more than 8 million people worldwide annually. That's slightly more than the number of cases in 1991.

In the United States, a form of the disease called multidrug resistant TB does not seem to be declining. A new study shows that people who have this form of TB are four times more likely to die compared to people with regular TB.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed 38,000 TB cases reported in California over 10 years. They found that 1.2 percent -- 407 total cases -- were multidrug resistant.

"One to 2 percent seems like a very low percentage," said Dr. Reuben Granich, one of the CDC researchers. "However, you have to remember each one of those cases may be 100 times more complicated than a normal TB case."

Multidrug resistance most commonly occurs when a tuberculosis patient doesn't complete or get adequate initial drug therapy. And patients with multidrug resistant TB can spread it through breathing and coughing.

"You have an 18- to 24-month treatment with multiple drugs that can be toxic at times, and also it's very expensive, so each case of multidrug resistant tuberculosis can actually sometimes end up costing over $1 million to treat and control," Granich said in a news release from the journal.

Granich said most of the drug-resistant TB cases were in younger patients born overseas.

"Our multidrug resistant TB cases came from over 30 countries, which further argues for the need for better TB control overseas," Granich said.

But the study found that the strongest risk factor for developing TB is having HIV or AIDS.

"The fact that we have an out-of-control HIV/AIDS epidemic fuels our out-of-control TB epidemic globally," Granich said.

Other reports agree that the challenge in defeating TB will be greatest in Africa and Eastern Europe because of HIV/AIDS and drug resistance.

Granich said the best way to prevent multidrug resistance is to test for and thoroughly treat tuberculosis when it first occurs.

Symptoms of tuberculosis include fatigue, fever, and night sweats, and in more advanced cases, a cough that lasts longer than two weeks, blood in the sputum that the patient coughs up and shortness of breath.

I'm about convinced it's not safe to leave your property!

Granich said most of the drug-resistant TB cases were in younger patients born overseas.

And this is a surprise to whom?

"Our multidrug resistant TB cases came from over 30 countries, which further argues for the need for better TB control overseas," Granich said.

And better border control here!

Another side benefit of illegal immigration...horrible diseases which were eradicated here 40 years ago or more. THEY'RE BACK![/b]

It's outrageous, just outrageous!!

And, I've fed up with this behavior; I've had it with these government officials with not enough sense to come in out of the rain; I'm disgusted with courts who have their nose up the ACLU bum and would put California through what they have for no legal purpose and no public gain.

I'm ready to go to Washington and start handing out Pink-Slips!!

Two groups of extremely vulnerable people come to mind:

1. America's Teachers

2. America's Public School Children

Personally, I believe both groups deserve to have everything in our country's power done to ensure their health and safety. Both of these groups are among our most vulnerable and most helpless regarding the chances of contracting diseases via illegal immigration as well as terrorism. You would think under the circumstances, of over 4,000 illegal aliens entering the U.S. on a daily basis, that a president of the U.S. would be extremely concerned about the well-being of these two vulnerable groups of people. I will continue to beg Pesident Bush to look at this situation before the new school year begins. And yes, I did say "beg". For our kids and our teachers, I will beg.