WHO Calls on Cambodia To Develop TB Treatment Programs

The World Health Organization has called on Cambodia to develop tuberculosis treatment programs and specifically target a unique strain of the disease that is spreading in the country, Xinhuanet reports. Of every 100,000 people in Cambodia, 508 carry TB and 225 develop the BK strain of the disease, Mao Tan Eang, director of the country's National Tuberculosis Center, said on Wednesday in an address at the center's biannual evaluation meeting. He added that Cambodia detected 64% of BK cases and cured 90% of all TB cases in 2004. WHO has called on Cambodia to achieve the detection and cure rate standards set for directly observed treatment, short-course, or DOTS -- the internationally recommended strategy to control TB. Under the DOTS strategy, Cambodia should detect 70% of BK cases and cure 85% all of TB cases. The government currently spends between $6 million and $7 million annually to curb TB in the country (Xinhuanet, 7/21).