SA invites WHO to talk about TB

[ruthbeme]

SA invites WHO to talk about TB
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width=10 align=left border=0 valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD align=left> </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>October 13, 2006, 05:00
South Africa has invited experts from the UN World Health Organisation (WHO)for talks next week to discuss a virulent form of tuberculosis that has killed at least 78 people in the country. The two-day meeting in Johannesburg will focus on the twin menaces of multi-drug resistant TB and extremely-drug resistant TB and try to come up with a combat plan.

The health ministry says minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang requested the meeting to assist in reviewing national action plans.

The WHO says alarm bells should be ringing worldwide because of the emerging threat posed by MDR-TB. Around 450 000 new MDR-TB cases are estimated to occur every year, according to the WHO.

In South Africa, about 330 000 people have tuberculosis, of whom around 6 000 have the multiple drug resistant variant.
http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa...136603,00.html

[ruthbeme]

Re: SA invites WHO to talk about TB

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
---------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 13 Oct 2006
Title: Health dept to hold urgent meeting on TB
---------------------------------------------------------------

By Veronica Mohapeloa, tel: (012) 314-2401

The Department of Health will hold a two-day meeting with the Word Health Organisation (WHO) next week, to discuss ways to fight tuberculosis in the country.

The meeting will be held in Johannesburg on Tuesday and Wednesday, to discuss the multi-drug resistant (MDR) and the extremely-drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis.

Departmental spokesperson Sibani Mngadi said the meeting had been requested by Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for the WHO experts to assist in reviewing national and regional strategies and action plans to deal with XDR-TB.

The disease has been discovered in several provinces in the country, including KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, with the Northern Cape and North West the latest to confirm its existence over the past few days.

The multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, which does not respond to at least three of the second-line TB treatment drugs; was first diagnosed in KwaZulu-Natal a couple of months ago, where a reported 70 people have died since.

"The Department has invited the WHO, SADC Ministers of Health and their TB experts, heads of SA Departments of Health, their TB programme managers and communication officers from all nine provinces," said Mr Mngadi.

Also to attend are scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Health Laboratories Services (NHLS) and representatives of the mining sector, the pharmaceutical industry and various universities.

"The objective of the meeting is to obtain a briefing on the status quo with regard to the management and prevention of TB, MDR and XDR TB. The meeting will also come up with an MDR and XDR TB strategy, which will talk to all the countries-specific TB programmes," said Mr Mngadi.

He added that this was a follow-up to the meeting between Dr Tshabalala-Msimang and TB experts, clinicians and laboratory scientists in Johannesburg last month, about the nature and extent of the problem in the country.

The experts recommended that the country urgently needed to strengthen its TB control programme, surveillance and infection control systems, among other things.

Given the mobility of people in Southern Africa, the Minister also met with the SADC Ministers of Health in Mozambique Maputo also last month, to brief them about the situation in South Africa.

"The Ministers agreed that the XDR TB challenge needed a regional approach, taking into consideration that TB is a challenge in SADC counties and the free movement of people within the region and continent," Mr Mngadi said.

The MRC has also developed a seven point plan to combat the disease.

The emergency action plan calls for urgent and rapid surveys of this type of the disease, enhancing capacity at laboratories, promoting universal access to antiretrovirals (ARVs) under joint TB and HIV activities and increasing research support for rapid diagnostic test development. - BuaNews

http://www.buanews.gov.za/view.php?I...&coll=buanew06

[ruthbeme]

Re: SA invites WHO to talk about TB

Who joins bid to solve TB crisis

<!-- article pic if exists --><!--div class="article-pic">
Photo: INLSA </div--><!-- end article pic -->October 16, 2006 Edition 1
Daily news correspondent
The national health department joins forces with the World Health Organisation (WHO) for two days from tomorrow to thrash out plans to tackle extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang made an urgent request to WHO for help "consolidating and reviewing the national and regional strategies, and action plans to deal with XDR-TB". The meeting will be held in Johannesburg.
XDR-TB is a highly resistant strain of TB. More than 50 South Africans, the majority in KwaZulu-Natal, have died from the new strain.
Health department spokeswoman Charity Bhengu said that other than the WHO, the meeting would include Southern African Development Community, health ministers and TB experts.
The WHO meeting is a follow-up to Tshabalala-Msimang's meeting with TB experts, clinicians and laboratory scientists in Johannesburg last month to discuss the nature and extent of XDR-TB.
TB experts at the meeting recommended that South Africa strengthen its TB control programme, surveillance and infection control systems. - Daily News Correspondent
http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3488534