Vietnam’s TB Control Program To Conduct Survey, Prioritize Access to Treatment, Health Official Says

Vietnam's National Tuberculosis Control Program for the first time will conduct a survey to determine the impact of the disease in the country, Nguyen Duc Duong, vice director of the National Institute of TB and Lung Disease, said on Friday, the Vietnam News Agency reports. Duong was speaking at a conference held in Hanoi, Vietnam, to review TB control activities in 2005 and discuss activities to be implemented this year. He also said that purchasing TB drugs is the most effective method of controlling the disease, adding that the TB control program this year will prioritize funding for TB treatment. Last year, the control program identified and provided treatment for about 97,000 people living with TB -- a reduction of approximately 3.8% from 2004. The country has a treatment success rate of about 90%. According to Duong, the spread of HIV/AIDS and increasing resistance to TB drugs is hindering the program's efforts to control the disease in remote areas. Vietnam currently records about 221,000 TB patients, and 145,000 new TB cases are reported annually. Approximately 70% of people living with TB are between ages 15 and 55 (Vietnam News Agency, 4/30).