TB rampant, despite fall in number of sufferers

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Health Sujudi has said that tuberculosis (TB) is still a serious problem in Indonesia, although the number of sufferers is now declining.

This high prevalence has nothing to do with the spread of the Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), he said. It has more to do with the difficulties of containing the lung disease, Sujudi told reporters after meeting Vice President Try Sutrisno at Merdeka Selatan Palace.

"I believe TB is now the number three killer in Indonesia," he said.

The minister did not give any precise figures on the number of people infected with TB.

Once thought to be under control, TB has returned worldwide with a vengeance, hitting both developed and developing countries. In some areas, its resurgence is linked to the growing number of people with AIDS, a disease which weakens people's resistance to disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated in 1993 that 1.9 billion people, or one in every three worldwide, are infected with the disease. In the next decade, 300 million more people will become infected, 90 million people will develop the disease, and 30 million people will die of it, WHO said.

Sujudi said the resurgence of TB worldwide, as well as yellow fever in Kenya, would be among the topics at the WHO conference in Geneva beginning May 19. The minister will be representing Indonesia in the week-long meeting.

He said that the Indonesian government did not have sufficient medication to treat all TB-infected people here.

Many people who undergo treatment fail to complete the entire process, some because they live too far from hospitals, others because they think they are cured the moment they stop coughing, he complained.

This makes the TB bacteria even more resistant to drugs, and curing it takes longer than the six months originally required, and costs more, he said.

The minister said TB bacteria can be found everywhere, even in public places like cinemas. But whether one will be infected or not depends on your health, he said.

People who are physically or mentally tired are prone to TB, he said, stressing that even wealthy people can be affected. (emb)