Treatment FAQ

what are challeneges in tb treatment and control in high risk countries

by Prof. Rudy Hackett Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Poor infection control practices, delays in diagnosis, inadequate treatment, a high prevalence of HIV, overcrowding and poor nutrition all contribute to this risk. Reversing the TB epidemic in the Region will require increased political and financial commitment from governments.

Frequent challenges include resource limitations, barriers to accessing TB care including distance to travel for patients to attend centralised services, indirect and direct cost associated with TB treatment for patients, limited staff capacity, and need for capacity building in health systems management and ...

Full Answer

What are the challenges of tuberculosis (TB) control?

The continuing challenges of TB control can be distributed into 5 key areas: inadequate diagnostics and treatment; the need for expansion of the World Health Organization (WHO) Directly Observed Therapy, short course (DOTS) program; multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB); and HIV coinfection.

What is challenge TB?

Challenge TB will tap the energy and influence of key stakeholders to drive engagement of the private sector, civil society, media, and public representatives to bring them on a common platform for a call to action to end TB.

What are the key achievements in the fight against tuberculosis (TB)?

Since 2018, pivotal achievements include the development and assessment of shorter and safer treatment regimens, and the adoption of a full package of TB care and prevention interventions for PLHIV. Guidelines for the roll out of TB prevention activities have been developed by the WHO.

What is our approach to TB in the UK and internationally?

Our approach to both our UK and international work is the same: to help people recognise the symptoms of TB and overcome the barriers they face in accessing diagnosis and treatment, and to support them through their recovery.

What challenges exist in controlling TB?

Poor infection control practices, delays in diagnosis, inadequate treatment, a high prevalence of HIV, overcrowding and poor nutrition all contribute to this risk. Reversing the TB epidemic in the Region will require increased political and financial commitment from governments.

Why is it difficult to control the spread of tuberculosis?

Cirillo, Ph. D., a professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine, says it doesn't take much of a foothold for tuberculosis to get going. Most pathogens require hundreds, even thousands, of organisms for the disease to start growing inside the human body. Tuberculosis requires 10 or fewer.

What is an emerging problem with the treatment of tuberculosis?

A major problem in the management of TB infection is the development of MDR-TB in the two most commonly used drugs: isoniazide and rifambicine. MDR-TB is characterized as a significant problem by WHO as 300.000 new MDR cases are recognized every year.

What are the challenges of treating tuberculosis infections in the United States and globally?

The five most important challenges to successful control of TB in the United States are 1) prevalence of TB among foreign-born persons residing in the United States; 2) delays in detecting and reporting cases of pulmonary TB; 3) deficiencies in protecting contacts of persons with infectious TB and in preventing and ...

What is the prevention and control of tuberculosis?

The BCG is currently the only licensed vaccine against TB, and has been in use since 1921. It is one of the most widely used vaccines worldwide, yet we still see around 9 million new cases of TB annually – a testament to the BCG's limited effectiveness. The BCG is: 80% effective in preventing TB for 15 years.

How is tuberculosis controlled?

The following measures can be taken to reduce the risk for exposure: Implementing a respiratory protection program; Training health care personnel on respiratory protection; and. Educating patients on respiratory hygiene and the importance of cough etiquette procedures.

Who is at risk of developing tuberculosis in this country?

Persons who have been Recently Infected with TB Bacteria Persons who have immigrated from areas of the world with high rates of TB. Children less than 5 years of age who have a positive TB test. Groups with high rates of TB transmission, such as homeless persons, injection drug users, and persons with HIV infection.

Is TB treatment Free in USA?

The department will only pay for services relevant to the treatment of tuberculosis. Payment for services above the normal treatment requirements for tuberculosis will be the responsibility of the patient and/or provider.

Why is TB not considered a pandemic?

The fact remains that the countries with resources, funds, and technical capacity have not invested in the field of TB because the disease has not affected them. In contrast, COVID-19 has gained a great deal of attention from those same countries due to fear of the disease and its impact at home.

Why is TB more prevalent in developing countries?

TB is more common in countries where many people live in absolute poverty because people are more likely to: live and work in poorly ventilated and overcrowded conditions, which provide ideal conditions for TB bacteria to spread.

How is tuberculosis controlled in the United States?

Eliminating TB in the United States requires a dual approach: increase testing and treatment among people at high risk for having latent TB infection, and continue aggressive case finding and treatment for active TB disease.

Which 5 countries are least affected by TB?

Canada, the United States of America, Australia & New Zealand also have among the lowest rates. In these countries the incident rate is less than 10 cases per 100,000 population per year. Countries with a very low incident rate tend to have different aims with regard to TB, compared to the high incidence countries.

Is TB increasing in Africa?

Rates of tuberculosis (TB) are also increasing rapidly in Africa , in parallel with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The continuing challenges of TB control can be distributed into 5 key areas: inadequate diagnostics and treatment; the need for expansion of the World Health Organization (WHO) Directly Observed Therapy, short course (DOTS) program;

Does sputum smear detect TB?

Sputum-smear microscopy, which was developed in 1882, does not detect extrapulmonary or smear-negative TB, and is less effective in children and people infected with HIV, whose smear results are often negative. 1 Most laboratories also lack the facilities to identify MDRTB. 2.

What is a high burden country?

High burden countries are usually in the economic recession or passing through severe socio-political turmoil that has further reduced spending on TB control. Majority depends on the international assistance and put little domestic efforts.

Is DOTS effective for TB?

Background: Despite the fact that Directly Observed Treatment Strategy ( DOTS) short course is cost effective and universally recommended by WHO for effective TB control, it is beyond the financial reach of several highly endemic countries. This article aims at identifying barriers in DOTS's implementation and progress in 22 high burden countries (HBCs) from TB.

When was the UN High Level Meeting on TB?

At the 71st United Nations General Assembly in 2016, member states unanimously adopted the resolution A/RES/71/159 entitled “Global health and foreign policy: health employment and economic growth”, in which it was decided to have a UN High-Level Meeting on TB in 2018.

When will the TB epidemic end?

There is clearly a strong political momentum at the global level for ending the TB epidemic by 2030. Despite significant progress in the past decades, at the current rate of progress, the SDG target on TB will not be achievable [ 2 ].

What is the UN General Assembly's declaration on the fight against tuberculosis?

In September of 2018 at the UN General Assembly, the heads of States adopted the “Politic al declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the fight against tuberculosis,” which called for a united and urgent global response to fight the epidemic and outlined concrete actions for increased investments and innovation.

What is the main health challenge for 2030?

TB is listed as a major health challenge in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as stated in Goal 3.3: “by 2030, end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, TB , Malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.”.

How long has TB been around?

In 2018, 136 years have passed since the discovery of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis by Robert Koch as well as 25 years since the WHO declared TB as a global health emergency. Significant progress has been made in the fight against the disease, especially since the creation of the Global Fund and the STBP. However, several challenges remain. This year is a historical year for the prevention and control of TB and is crucial for attaining the goal of ending the epidemic by 2030.

When was the first high level meeting dedicated to a health issue?

The UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in 2001 was the first-ever high-level meeting dedicated to a health issue. Since then, health issues have appeared more frequently on the agenda of high-level meetings; HIV/AIDS and AMR in 2016, TB and NCDs in 2018, and UHC in 2019.

When did Japan start subsidizing TB?

As to financial burden due to TB, Japan’s experience would be of value for other countries. In Japan, universal health insurance was introduced in 1961 and public subsidy for TB patients (starting in 1951) played important roles for controlling the financial burden of TB patients.

What are the risks of prison inmates developing TB?

lack of advocacy, communication and social mobilization. In addition, prison inmates in the Region have a higher risk of developing active TB (including multidrug-resistant TB) than the general population, particularly in the former USSR. Poor infection control practices, delays in diagnosis, inadequate treatment, a high prevalence of HIV, ...

What are the challenges of the WHO European region?

The major constraints are: the high rate of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), mostly in the countries of the former USSR; the rapid growth of the HIV epidemic in eastern countries and central Asia and consequently the sharp increase in HIV-related TB;

What is Challenge TB Botswana?

Challenge TB Botswana focuses mainly on the provision of technical support from both in-country and periodic international expert technical advisors in various technical areas of TB and TB/HIV control. Through Challenge TB, one senior technical advisor is full-time seconded to the Botswana National Tuberculosis Control Program (BNTP) and one senior laboratory advisor is full-time based at National TB Reference Laboratory (NTRL).

When will Challenge TB start in Namibia?

Challenge TB in Namibia will commence on 1st July 2015, immediately after the close-out of TB CARE I. The work-plan development process has already begun with consultations with the USAID local mission, the Ministry of Health and Social Services and other key stakeholders and will be concluded in mid-July 2015. The key interventions will be implemented in 7 priority regions and will have a TB/HIV bias as opposed to its predecessor which was broad-based and mainly focused on national level technical assistance. The seven priority regions of Namibia include; Oshana, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshikoto, Kavango, Windhoek and Zambezi. These were selected on the basis of having a huge HIV and TB/HIV burden.

What is the RNTCP?

The Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP) has made significant achievements since its inception including attainment of the TB-related targets of the Millennium Development Goal well ahead of time. However, challenges remain – India continues to carry the highest TB burden in the world, around one million cases are both missed and not notified to national programme, mortality continues to remain high and the emerging challenge of drug resistance TB threatens to undo the gains made so far. To address these, the RNTCP, with support from its technical partners, prepared an ambitious “fast track plan” to accelerate activities aimed at achieving demonstrable progress toward the Country’s vision of “TB Free India”. Understandably, addressing a public health issue of this magnitude requires intensified and collaborative efforts from all stakeholders in the country and beyond.

What was the TB rate in 2013?

In 2013, the TB incidence notified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was 94/100,000 inhabitants for new case and 149/100,000 for all TB forms The case detection rate estimated by WHO for TB all forms was 51% (47-56) for 2013 in the 23 Coordinating Facilities Against Tuberculosis (CPLT). The epidemic of HIV infection is generalized with a prevalence of 1.2 percent in the general population. The highest rates are in Maniema (4%), and the lowest are in Bas Congo (0.2%), the percentage of HIV among TB patients notified in 2013 was 14%. The total number of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases notified in 2013 was 113,603. Among them 71,526 were new cases smear positive (SM+), 3,981 were relapses and 1,164 were other cases previously treated. The proportion of MDR-TB among TB patients was estimated at 2.6% (0.01-5.5) among new SM+ PTB are MDR-TB and 13% (0.2-28) among retreatment cases (WHO 2014).

Is Indonesia a TB country?

Indonesia (Population: 250 million) is both a high TB and a high HIV burden country with the fastest growing ( mainly concentrated) HIV epidemic in the region . The epidemic of TB in Indonesia is generalized: the latest TB prevalence survey (2014) revealed the prevalence 2.5 times higher than previously estimated (average 660/100.000 population). The estimated incidence is more than 1 million new cases / year, however only 327,103 TB cases were notified in 2013. 2% of all new TB cases and 12% among retreatment cases are estimated to be drug resistant. Each year around 100,000 people die of TB.

Is Zimbabwe a high burden country?

Zimbabwe is one of the 22 high-burden countries for TB, with a disproportionate burden of TB/HIV co-infection as high as 69% in 2013. Through this grant, Zimbabwe seeks to consolidate the gains made over the past decade while addressing strategic gaps and priorities for TB control through the following:

Is TB a public health threat in Tajikistan?

TB re-emerged as an important public health threat after the breakdown of the Soviet Union, and its burden remains high in Tajikistan. According to the World Health Organization, the estimated TB incidence was 100 per 100,000 populations in 2013, which is the fifth highest level of TB burden among 53 countries of the WHO European Region. The estimated TB mortality rate (excluding TB/HIV cases) in 2013 was 6.9 per 100,000 population. According to the national TB program notifications data, a total of 6,495 TB cases (79.2 per 100,000 population) all forms, were registered in the country in 2013 (including penitentiary sector); and out of these, 5,306 were new cases (70.0 per 100,000). The high burden of anti-TB drug resistance is one of the key challenges in Tajikistan.

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