Recent health statistics indicate that while Malaria is one of the world’s biggest killers and Africa's leading cause of mortality for children under five, Tuberculosis (TB) on the other hand continues to affect over nine million people annually with a death rate of nearly two million yearly. The data may appear alarming but researchers are working hard to provide lasting solutions to these endemic diseases. Grouped in Yaounde from October 11-15, some 40 journalists and over 20 researchers interested in these tropical diseases exchanged experiences on the setbacks to endemic tropical diseases, especially TB and proposed ways to ensure a better treatment of the ailments. The symposium was sponsored by the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD), a body that has of late played a key role in tackling tropical diseases such as malaria, TB and the Dengue fever as well as the dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) which are caused by four closely related viral strains.
Focusing discussions on the challenges of TB, the researchers present in Yaounde for the symposium included: Paul Herrling (Head of Novartis Institutes for Developing World Medical Research), Clif Barry (National Institute of Health), Douglas Young (Imperial College, London), Prof. Christopher Kuaban (University of Yaoundé, TB Hospital Jamot) while the National coordinator for TB Control in Cameroon, Dr Abena Foe Jean-Louis represented the Cameroon Minister of Public Health and presented a paper on the situation of TB treatment in the country.
The researchers pointed out that although TB is an old disease, it required new solutions for its effective treatment and control. Talking on the Epidemiology of TB, TB/HIV and MDR TB in Africa
Fred Lwilla of the Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania, underlined that TB is coming back with much resistance although it remains a preventable and curable disease.
In another presentation, entitled BCG vaccination in HIV exposed children: Innovation
in vaccine development and public health strategies, Vittorio Colizzi of the Chantal Biya International Reference Centre for AIDS, Cameroon, noted that the centre was also making a headway in research on TB treatment and control given that it is one of the main opportunistic HIV infections.
Factors identified to favour the spread of TB include urban crowding, inadequate diagnostic and treatment infrastructure, globalisation and world travel.
Since 1993 when the WHO declared TB as an emergency disease, there is still need for sustained political commitment for the disease to get under control, one of the researchers stated.
By organising the Yaounde symposium, Novartis was out to ensure a follow up to similar efforts last year in Dakar, Senegal, on the launching of Coartem-D, a sweat malaria drug for children as another way of treating neglected tropical diseases. The institution, as a non-profit organisation, is currently addressing challenges in TB treatment such as reducing treatment time and drug resistant TB and is also committed to helping patients with TB by sponsoring research programmes at NITD as well as by donating medicines.
