Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.

Drug Resistant TB Is More Widespread Than Previously Believed
-------------------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=157BACD:A6F02AD83191E1600408940D4976DBC79574F7DCC14957C0 WHO finds
particularly high levels in countries of the former Soviet Union and
some Chinese provinces A new study by the World Health Organization
has found drug-resistant tuberculosis in virtually all of the 79
countries the organization surveyed around the world, with
particularly high levels in countries of the former Soviet Union and
some Chinese provinces. VOA's Jessica Berman reports.

About one third of the world's population is infected with the
bacterium that causes tuberculosis and, every year, nine million
people become contagious.

But misuse of two, potent antibiotics, izoniazid and rifampacin, has
made them ineffective in treating the disease, causing multi-drug
resistance, or MDR-TB.

The WHO estimates that in 2004, one-point-seven million people died of
TB, many of whom could not be cured with either antibiotic.

Ten years ago, the world body began a project to study TB drug
resistance around the globe.

In their latest report, investigators identified the emergence of more
than 400-thousand new cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in
the 79 nations it surveyed, making up about one percent of new TB
cases in each country.

But in eight countries, including Kazakhstan and Latvia, and several
Chinese provinces, the number of new multi-drug resistant TB cases
exceeded six-point-five percent.

Investigators also say they found an increase in resistance to any
antibiotic in Tomsk Oblast in Russia and Botswana, while MDR TB
decreased in Hong Kong and Cuba.

Mario Ravigiole headed the WHO's tuberculosis surveillance effort.
Ravigiole says of antibiotic resistance..."That is a mistake that is
generated by weak public health systems, weak clinical practices or,
in come cases, malpractices."

By knowing the scope of the MDR-TB problem and where it is located,
Raviglione says public health officials can begin to treat
tuberculosis properly.

The results of the tuberculosis study were published in the medical
journal the Lancet.