WHO targets for TB and the new 5-year plan

WHO targets for TB and the new 5-year plan

The World Health Organization established a new plan Wednesday to combat tuberculosis and nearly 2 million deaths caused each year through a combination of better testing, diagnosis and drugs.

"The Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015" will cost about $ 47 billion, with money going to fund more testing labs and research projects to develop and distribute drugs to treat the disease, said in his plan .

"There is much at stake: not the rapid expansion of TB prevention and treatment, about 10 million people will die from a curable disease in 2015," said Marcos Espinal, executive secretary of the association.

Tuberculosis is an ancient disease, with most curable if detected early and treated with antimicrobial drugs, the WHO said.

All countries are affected, but most cases occur in Asia and Africa. India and China account for 35 percent of all cases. tuberculosis occupies the eighth leading cause of death in countries of low and middle income, he said.

WHO is looking for about half the money for the program to come from high-income countries and said if fully implemented, could save about 5 million lives.

It is the goal of a success rate of 90 percent of treatment in 2015, compared to 86 percent in 2008/09 and that all TB patients tested for HIV.

About a quarter are tested now and tuberculosis is a cause of death for people infected with HIV. Health experts fear the disease could deal a disastrous blow to the Sahel, most affected region in the global AIDS epidemic.

"People living with HIV are between 20 and 37 times more likely to develop the disease during their lifetime than people who are HIV-negative," he said.

The plan also calls for more tests and better treatment strategies for multi-resistant strains of TB drugs. WHO first launched his plan to stop TB in 2001 and adjusted its strategy in 2006.