Fighting TB

Posted on 22 February 2010.

China, which with 4.5 million cases currently has the world's second largest tuberculosis burden, is "fighting an uphill battle against drug-resistant forms of the disease."

Lin Yan, director of the China office of the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease, explains: "There are many reasons for China's drug-resistant TB problem. Patients stop taking drugs when they feel better, maybe after a month. Some have no money for drugs if the treatment is not free and they don't even know this is a serious disease. Some are so afraid of stigma they don't see a doctor, they just buy drugs over the counter."

Tuberculosis mainly affects poor people, who often live in places where healthcare is not easily accessible. Those who do seek treatment may well find the cost of ongoing treatment way beyond their means. "I don't take drugs now," says Li Jiachuen, "I don't even have money to pay off my 20,000 yuan debt. I spent thousands of yuan on diagnosis and treatment and even more on transportation [to the medical clinic]."

While the World Health Organisation recommends that all TB treatment be given free of charge, China currently only provides such treatment in specialist TB outpatient clinics. Regular TB costs around 1,000 yuan per person to treat in China, but drug-resistant TB can range from 100,000 to 300,000 yuan per person. Each year another 1.4 million people in China are estimated to fall ill with the disease; in 2008, it killed 160,000 Chinese.

There have been no new TB drugs for more than 40 years, but recent research has produced some promising possibilities. "TB is a political problem because it is infectious. It has societal impact, it is a threat to public health," says Zhong Qiu, head of the Anti-TB Research Institute in Guangdong province.

(All quotes taken from Reuters.)

Pray for success in the fight against the spread of tuberculosis in China. Pray that both medical personnel and local officials will work together to combat the disease.

Pray that TB patients will realise the importance of completing their treatment and be enabled to do so. Pray particularly that free treatment will be made available to all who need it.

Pray for scientists seeking to find new drugs to help treat TB. May their research prove successful and new treatments be ready for use as quickly as possible.