The World Health Organization (WHO)on Monday said Asian nations had failed to rein in the rapid growth of highly lethal, drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) and warned that the disease could soon become a serious threat to the region as a whole.

 

Only one percent of the estimated 150,000 people with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in WHO's Western Pacific Region, which covers East Asia and the Pacific, are getting appropriate treatment, the Manila-based WHO regional office said in a press release.

 

WHO said drug-resistant tuberculosis is of concerns in Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, China and the Philippines. The Western Pacific Region has the largest number of MDR-TB cases among WHO regional offices around the globe.

 

"Many countries do not have adequate laboratory facilities to detect MDR-TB. Even if they do, action may not be taken," WHO said." Most MDR-TB patients in the region have little hope of acquiring appropriate drugs and die as a result."

 

MDR-TB is caused by mismanagement of standard TB treatment, but increased mobility, migration and crowded, urban housing, as well as poor health services and laboratory facilities, fuel its growth.

 

"MDR-TB does not stop at borders," warned Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. "An uncontrolled local epidemic threatens the stability of global health security. TB anywhere is TB everywhere."

 

Each untreated tuberculosis patient could infect five to 10 people a year, WHO said.

 

"Once it enters into a country, it is difficult to get rid off," Pieter Van Maaren, WHO's Western Pacific Regional Adviser for TB, said.

 

WHO said MDR-TB is likely to become an epidemic that would be costly and complex to control. Drugs to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis are about 100 times more costly than the regimen for normal TB.

 

"We are more vulnerable than ever to the MDR-TB threat," Omi said. "Countries must act responsibly to safeguard global health."

 

Despite the discovery of a cure half a century ago, TB remains the leading infectious disease killer of adults after HIV/AIDS.   （Source: Xinhua）

Millions of volunteers will battle high temperatures during the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. Fortunately for them, the volunteers will be able to use traditional Chinese tea to cool themselves, thanks to the Chinese Traditional Medicine Association.

 

Starting last September, the Chinese Traditional Medicine Association began inviting experts to conduct research on brewing a tea that can cool the body.

 

The tea is made of traditional Chinese materials like honeysuckle, ebony, green tea, and citric acid. （Source: Xinhua ）

Healthcare providers at the grassroots should play a bigger role in preventing and controlling diabetes, which currently afflicts more than 40 million Chinese, health officials and experts have said.

 

Going to doctors in large hospitals for treatment and taking prescribed medication is not adequate for containing diabetes, said Yang Wenying, chairwoman of the Chinese Diabetes Society.

 

"We need qualified educators to help patients combat the chronic disease," Yang said at the launching ceremony of the Jonson-Jonson Diabetes Institute on Friday.

 

Every year, about 1.2 million people develop diabetes in China, with more than 30 percent unaware that they have the disease, Yang said.

 

Similarly, there is a common misconception of the disease - many believe that it is not lethal as related deaths are often from the complications that come with it rather than the disease itself, experts have said.

 

Diabetes sufferers are at risk of many other diseases and premature death as it damages body tissue.

 

It can lead to stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, blindness.

 

Worldwide, about 3.8 million deaths are attributed to diabetes every year, World Health Organization statistics show.

 

"The low awareness and poor knowledge among the general public are largely due to the lack of a nationwide standardized diabetes management system and professionals in the field," Professor Fu Zhuzhi of the No. 2 Hospital affiliated with Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong, said.

 

Under the country's current healthcare system, there are no professional diabetes educators who are usually available at the grassroots-level clinics in most developed countries in the world, he said.

 

Healthcare workers at the grassroots here are not trained in diabetes management including complication screening, raising awareness of the disease and prevention, Fu said.

 

"Previously, the health authorities were more likely to be distracted by more immediate threats like SARS and bird flu," said Kong Lingzhi, deputy director of the disease prevention and control bureau of the Health Ministry.

 

Now, with full recognition of disease as a health threat that can cause numerous fatalities and economic losses every year, the government has been coming up with relevant policies and measures to deal with the scourge, she said.

 

"The top priority in the battle against diabetes is to fully involve healthcare providers at the grassroots," Kong said.

 

In the next five years, the Jonson-Jonson Diabetes Institute is expected to train 16,000 diabetes educators at the grassroots level, certified by the ministry, to help fight the disease, she said.

 

Apart from nurses, nutritionists and trained patients can also act as educators, she said.

 

"Only with an in-depth understanding of patients' personalities, the disease, and health, can the educators do a good job."    (Source: China Daily)