RI rank third in TB stakes<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The rate of tuberculosis (TB) has declined steadily in the past
\nfew years but the country remains among those with the highest
\nnumber of TB patients, says the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n
According to WHO, the rate dropped from an estimated 130 per
\n100,000 people in 1999 to 122 in 2001, and further down to 115 in
\n2002.<\/p>\n
It also said that Indonesia, the world's fourth largest
\ncountry with over 215 million people, was third after China and
\nIndia in terms of the number of patients.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a report by University of Indonesia (UI)
\nresearchers, concluded that the disease costs the country some Rp
\n8.3 trillion (US$963 million) annually.<\/p>\n
\"About 75 percent of TB patients are in their productive age
\n-- between 15 and 49 years,\" said researcher Prastuti Chusnun of
\nUI's Health Economy Research Center.<\/p>\n
TB infects about 583,000 people and kills 140,000 every year,
\nmaking it the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular
\ndiseases.<\/p>\n
The government, according to Minister for Health Achmad
\nSujudi, has provided free drugs for TB patients.<\/p>\n
He, however, called on regencies and municipalities to
\nallocate funds for free sputum examinations in public health
\ncenters and other necessities.<\/p>\n
\"The challenges now lie on how to inform the poor about the
\nfree drugs available for them and on the commitment of local
\nadministrations,\" the minister stated during a journalist's forum
\non Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The ministry's Director of Communicable Diseases Umar Fahmi
\nAchmadi said the government was focused mostly on improving
\ninfrastructure and human resource capacity to manage TB.<\/p>\n
\"Ninety-nine percent of public health centers have adopted
\nDOTS. Lung clinics have also joined in,\" he said, adding that now
\nthe ministry was ready to launch a campaign to inform the public
\nabout TB.<\/p>\n
DOTS is the acronym for Direct Observed Treatment, Short-
\ncourse, an internationally recommended strategy for controlling
\nTB, which was introduced in Indonesia in 1995.<\/p>\n
The program's success lies with the health workers, trained
\nvolunteers and family members, who observe and record patients
\ntaking their daily medicine over the full course of anti-TB
\ntreatment, which lasts between six and eight months.<\/p>\n
Patients have to complete the course, as otherwise the TB will
\nnot be completely eradicated and will reemerge.<\/p>\n
With DOTS, Indonesia's TB treatment success rate -- the number
\nof patients recovering fully from TB -- has reached 86.3 percent.<\/p>\n
Case detection rate (CDR) is also increasing. In 1997,
\nIndonesia's CDR stood at mere 7.5 percent of all assumed cases
\nand rose to 20 percent in 2000 and 41.3 percent in 2003.<\/p>\n
\"We hope to reach 60 percent by the end of this year,\" said
\nUmar.<\/p>\n
WHO has set international targets of 70 percent for CDR and 85
\npercent for success rate by 2005.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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