One million people with TB go unnoticed in Asia: WHO

One million people with TB go unnoticed in Asia: WHO

One million people in East Asia and the Pacific are afflicted with tuberculosis every year but fail to seek medical treatment, fueling the spread of Asia's top killer infectious disease, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday.

Undetected cases account for half of about 2 million people who develop tuberculosis every year in the Western Pacific region, the health agency said in a statement to mark World Stop TB Day on Thursday.

It's tragic that so many people suffer silently with TB when there is, in fact, a cure that works," said WHO regional director Shigeru Omi. "The sick waste away slowly, suffer financial ruin and maybe infect family members."

Tuberculosis kills four people worldwide every minute, and in Asia, it kills 1,000 people every day -- more deaths than any other infectious disease, including AIDS, the WHO said.

It noted a rise in cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is more difficult to treat.

The failure to detect and treat the disease has been traced to poor public awareness, limited access to and delivery of health care services and low quality of laboratory services.

The internationally recommended strategy for controlling tuberculosis calls for early detection of symptoms, constant monitoring, and a six-month drug regimen.

Tuberculosis is a lung disease that spreads through the air, like a common cold. Symptoms include weight loss, night sweats, fever and cough.

jgn dhps: On the Net: World Health Organization: http://www.wpro.who.int

GetAP 1.00 -- MAR 22, 2005 11:06:57