Newswise — “The American Thoracic Society (ATS), originally founded as the American Sanatorium Association at the turn of the twentieth century, welcomes the news that deaths worldwide from tuberculosis are falling and, with the exception of Africa, all world regions are on target to halve TB mortality by 2015.
“While noting our success, it’s perhaps more important to highlight the challenges presented in today’s World Health Organization’s report. Although TB no longer kills nearly one out of every four New York City residents, as it once did, it remains a major killer. In Africa, the TB/HIV co-epidemic is particularly challenging, given that HIV-positive patients are many more times likely to develop TB. And, alarmingly, multidrug-resistant and extensively- drug-resistant tuberculosis are on the rise around the world.
“The ATS calls upon the international community to fully fund the STOP TB Strategy. The implementation of this program is largely responsible for reducing tuberculosis deaths, but the report notes that funding is about $1 billion short of what is necessary to meet 2012 implementation goals. In the United States, the ATS is concerned that proposed funding cuts to global health programs will threaten our progress against TB. We urge Congress and the President to maintain U.S. leadership on global and domestic TB control through appropriate funding for TB programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
“Effective vaccines to prevent disease, better diagnostics to quickly identify those infected and new drugs to overcome drug resistance and reduce the treatment time are needed in order to eliminate TB.
“The ATS and its worldwide members pledge to continue their work to end this epidemic. The ATS, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, produced the first-ever international standards for tuberculosis care, which provide technical assistance in implementing these standards and other TB control strategies in 40 countries. We stand ready to help the WHO, as well as all governments with which we work, to do what is necessary to turn TB into medical history.”
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