Washington, DC — Congressman Donald M. Payne, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, hosted a press conference to launch the World Health Organization’s (WHO) groundbreaking report entitled ‘Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in the World.’ This report, the first ever, details the threat drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) poses around the world.

“TB knows no boundaries,” Representative Payne declared. “From as far away as the Ukraine to right in our backyard, tuberculosis, particularly the drug-resistant forms, threatens to undermine the progress made over the last 10 years.”

Tuberculosis kills approximately 1.5 million people each year - second only to HIV/AIDS as the world’s leading infectious killer. It is preventable and with as little as $20 per day, normal TB is curable. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), which does not respond to the standard 6-month treatment of first-line drugs, infects an estimated 490,000 people every year, of which approximately 22% die. There are around 40,000 reported cases of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), which does not respond to the most effective drugs including any of the second-line medications.

The World Health Organization’s report underscores the need for greater vigilance and action in order to understand the scope of this disease and to stem its spread. Unfortunately, the true extent of the problem is currently not known. For example, only six countries in sub-Saharan Africa were able to provide data for the report. “The lack of information on drug-resistant TB in Africa is troubling,” Payne commented.

For many countries experiencing cases of drug-resistant TB, according to the WHO report, there is a problem of data collection, detection, drug supply for treatment, laboratory capacity and properly trained personnel. For 2008, there is a $500 million funding gap that must be closed in order to address this problem in low- and middle-income countries. With the proper financing, the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006 – 2015 can achieve its goal of reducing the incidence of TB, halving its prevalence and mortality rates, and laying the foundation for its elimination.

Payne stated, “The case of Andrew Speaker brought drug-resistant TB to our doorstep, proving that no one and no country are immune. We must be serious about attacking this disease because without vigorous action we risk eroding the progress made not only in TB control but also HIV/AIDS management.”