Health Ministry adjusts TB control strategy for Thailand
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Thailand's Public Health Ministry has improved both its strategy as well as its medications to fight against Tuberculosis (TB) as the country remains listed among 22 countries with problems in containing the disease, Permanent Secretary for Public Health Paichit Varachit said today.
Among 120,000 TB infections in Thailand, 44,000 -- nearly one third -- are new patients.
Some 2,800 new cases or 1.7 per cent were diagnosed as being TB multidrug-resistant while an estimated 13,000 TB-infected people die from this contagious disease each year, Dr Paichit said.
The permanent secretary explained that a major difficulty in controlling TB in Thailand is the spread of HIV virus as 16 per cent of HIV-positive persons also contracted tuberculosis.
Only 83 per cent of Thailand's TB patients, meanwhile, can complete the six-month course of anti-TB medications and fully recover, lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard at 85 per cent at minimum.
As more TB-positive migrant workers flood into Thailand, Dr Paichit said that it is increasingly difficult for health staff to control the disease.
Responding to TB-related problems, the public health ministry cooperated with local administration organisations, hospitals and the Tuberculosis Chest Diseases and Critical Care to better the TB control programme in the country, aiming to increase more full-scale treatment and cure for the patients.
The ministry will apply multi-TB pills to cure patients -- both children and adults -- to reduce the problem of incomplete intake of several medicines.
Dr Paichit added that the WHO also provided free anti-TB liquid formula , worth Bt3 million (nearly US$91,000) for Thailand, to cure infected children. (MCOT online news)
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