Disease over 200,000 lives at risk of

Disease over 200,000 lives at risk of

Disease in the News Paper Drug Resistant Tuberculosis HCS/245 Introduction Tuberculosis is one of the oldest diseases that is still around today, and never really went away. World wide there is now concern for new strains of the virus attacking with a vengeance.

Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) held a conference and one of the main topics of discussion is the recent strain of drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB) in Europe.They’ve coined a new term for this new concerning strain of TB- they call it “MDR-TB,” which stands for ‘multi-drug resistant TB. ” The cases of drug-resistant TB are usually seen as a result of the first line of treatment (first-line drugs) being used improperly for treatment or mismanaged in the first treatment course. One in three people in the world is infected with dormant Tuberculosis bacteria, but it is only when the bacteria become active that they fall ill with the disease, (Paddock, pp. 2).TB is much like HIV, as it is an auto-immune disease- once the bacteria becomes active/the person becomes infected it can drastically decrease a person’s immunity. The main concern at the conference is that if a proper and effective treatment isn’t found for the drug resistant cases of TB and the MDR-TB cases, that it could increase to pandemic proportions.

Without successful treatment and maintenance of TB at it’s manageable strain, it can potentially put over 200,000 lives at risk of being lost, and billions of dollars spent purely because of poor treatment management.Claims The article regarding the World Health Organizations meeting about the possible issues with drug-resistant TB claims that the most important aspect is not only attempting to treat/cure the disease, but it was vital to start working on prevention as soon as possible. The World Health Organization upon meeting at the conference has devised a new treatment plan, and hopes to save 120,000 lives and at least five billion dollars with the new approach. The new plan is specifically to focus on Europe and on prevention.Currently there are a few second-line drugs available to treat the strains of MDR-TB; however, these drugs are far more costly, and have some serious side-effects.

There are further complications as well if MDR-TB is not properly handled or treated, say- the medications developed for MDR strains are misused or mismanaged as well, not only does a person remain ill- the development of an even more serious strain occurs. Extensively drug-resistant TB can occur, should the second-line of defense with medication and treatments fail.The new plan takes account of new diagnostic techniques, patient-centered models of care and service tailored to particular populations. It includes budgets, targets, and timelines; six strategic directions such as collaboration on more effective drugs and testing; and several areas of intervention (WHO, pp. 1). Their widespread hope is that many countries will take it upon themselves to make their own national TB action plans.

Perspective The article was solely based on the conference held at the World Health Organization’s conference in Europe- as a nation they are concerned about the possibility of a pandemic.Naturally with the level of travel that takes place, if Europe is at risk of experiencing a pandemic of MDR-TB, then so is the United States, and many other countries. In Europe, specifically the new plan hopes to prevent the diagnoses of 250,000 new MDR-TB cases, successfully treat 127,000 MDR-TB cases, and save the region about 12 billion dollars in total, (WHO, pp. 2). Conclusion The World Health Organization has a very positive approach to their conference after examining treatment options. They maintain that while Tuberculosis is not as easy disease to cure, it can be done.They have developed a treatment of several first-line defense drugs, and a strict protocol and timeline in which to follow them.

The hope is to cure those with TB, but to prevent a nation-wide and possibly a world-wide pandemic of several strains of TB, each more resistant than the prior. The focus will have to be strictly on management of medication usage, treatment approach, and strict adherence to protocols developed. Prevention of elevation to drug-resistant strains will be vital as well. With continuity of care in the protocols to treat TB there is a chance to save many lives, and billions of dollars.

References 1) Regional Committee for Europe, WHO (2011, September 14). European Member States show new resolve in tackling MDR- TB, WHO. Retrieved from: http://www. euro. who.

int/en/who-we-are/governance/regional-committee-for-europe/sixty-first-session/press-and-media/press-material/european-member-states-show-new-resolve-in-tackling-multidrug-resistant-tb# 2) Paddock, Catharine (2011, September 14). Resistant TB spreading in Europe at Alarming Rate, Medical News Today Retrieved from: http://www. medicalnewstoday. com/printerfriendlynews.

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