[procaare] TB-Related News and Journal Items Weekly Update

[ProCAARE <procaare@healthnet.org>]

TB-Related News and Journal Items Weekly Update
- [TB-Update] (04.24.03)
********************

* 2 TB patients under 24-hour guard by Columbus police

Associated Press, April 24, 2003

Ohio (AP) - City police are keeping two men with active tuberculosis under 24-hour guard
because the men won't follow doctors' orders to stay isolated. The city Health Department
will ask City Council next month for $50,000 to continue guarding the men. "The only time
we do this is when they become a danger to the general public and are refusing to wear a
mask out in the general public or stay home until they test negative," said Frank Cook,
assistant city attorney.

One of the men maintains that he has had three negative tests for TB and is no longer
contagious. In 2001, the man was diagnosed with TB and left Ohio before his treatment was
complete, Cook said. "He had a history of non-compliance and we felt a need to go to the
Probate Court and ask for a detention order," he said. Coleman said the men could be
guarded for a few weeks to several months, depending on how quickly they have three
consecutive negative TB tests.


* TB Treatment Rates Still Short of Targets

The Herald (Harare, Zimbabwe), April 23, 2003

Although tuberculosis detection and treatment success rates have improved significantly in
Africa, current indicators in the region still fall short of global targets, a World
Health Organisation (WHO) official in Harare has said. In his presentation at a seminar to
mark this year's World TB Day held recently, WHO adviser for TB in the African region, Dr
Eugene Nyarko, said detection rates and treatment success of infectious forms of lung TB
had increased significantly between 1995 and 2000.

Dr Nyarko said the notification rate for TB had also increased phenomenally over the same
period with infection rates rising from 83 to 164 per 100 000 people. He added that the
number of countries in the region implementing the WHO-recommended directly observed
treatment short course (DOTS) for the recommended strategic disease control program had
also increased from 17 counties in 1993 to 41 countries in 2002.

The latest WHO estimates (March 2001) show that close to two million Africans develop TB
every year, with at least 600 000 succumbing to it. Africa still has the highest TB/HIV
related infection and death rates in the world. This has been attributed to several
factors including population increase, unfavorable socio-economic conditions and
displacement of populations due to conflicts prevailing in most countries in the region.

Source:[TB-Update] : tb-update-admin@asciences.com
Web: http://lists.asciences.com/mailman/listinfo/tb-update.
--
To send a message to ProCAARE, write to: procaare@healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe procaare OR unsubscribe procaare
To contact a person, send a message to: procaare-help@healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.procaare.org

The views presented in ProCAARE do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
SATELLIFE  (http://www.healthnet.org), the Harvard AIDS Institute
(http://aids.harvard.edu), or Health & Development Networks
(http://www.hdnet.org), unless otherwise stated. The reader assumes all
responsibilities in using information posted or archived by ProCAARE.
Reproduction is welcomed, provided ProCAARE and procaare@healthnet.org
are quoted, and SATELLIFE is informed of usage.