PROCAARE: Tuberculosis, Sub-Saharan Africa

[procaare@usa.healthnet.org]

"Science & Health Bulletin: Africa -- Tuberculosis"
PANA Wire Service (09/24/97); Draku, Moses
     In 1995, Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest number of new
tuberculosis cases of any global region, as well as a high rate
of TB and HIV co-infection, according to the World Health
Organization.  At an international conference on scientific
advances in TB, held in Uganda, WHO representative Dermot Maher
said the rising number of TB cases can be attributed to
increasing poverty, noncompliance with TB control programs, a
growing population, and the spread of HIV.  While 9 percent of TB
cases worldwide in 1995 were attributable to HIV infection, 26
percent of TB cases in Africa were due to the virus -- and HIV
rates in new TB patients in some south and east African countries
are thought to be between 30 percent and 60 percent.  The WHO has
adopted directly observed therapy, short-course (DOTS) as the
most effective therapy against TB, and of the 48 countries in the
Africa WHO region, 29 are now using the system.

KEYWORDS:  Related Epidemics, Tuberculosis, Epidemiology, Incidence,
Uganda Conference, Sub-Sahara Africa
......................................................................gjn
--
Send mail for the `ProCAARE' conference to `procaare@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to:  `owner-procaare@usa.healthnet.org'.