The number of tuberculosis patients in Cambodia has jumped five percent since last year

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2008122623376/National-news/Doctors-see-spike-in-TB-rate.html
Doctors see spike in TB rate
Written by Khoun Leakhana and Mom Kunthear
Friday, 26 December 2008

Doctors disagree whether the increase in tuberculosis cases means more
people are seeking help or more are becoming infected with the
disease

THE number of tuberculosis patients in Cambodia has jumped five
percent since last year, with 28,000 cases in the last nine months of
2008, said Dr Mao Tan Eang, the director of the National Centre for
Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control.

While some doctors say this spike is the result of a successful
campaign to treat people who would not otherwise have sought medical
care, others simply say the epidemic is growing.

Health professionals, however, can agree that seeking proper medical
treatment for tuberculosis is more important now than ever.

"We are very happy with this number because it follows a new strategy
to find more patients," Mao Tan Eang said. "When we find more
patients, we can give them medicine and reduce the spread of the
disease."

Mao Tan Eang says Cambodia is well-equipped to fight tuberculosis for
years into the future.

"We have enough tuberculosis medicine in our warehouse to support
patients for two years, and we have the funds to buy the medicine for
three or four years after that," he said.

But Dr Leng Saroeung, the head of the Tuberculosis Department at Ang
Roka Hospital in Takeo province, told the Post, "The national anti-
tuberculosis program has reported a remarkable increase [in cases] and
that makes us worried".

"We have conducted careful research that has shown us that the number
of people who are affected by tuberculosis has increased," he said.


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Resistance can happen when patients use inappropriate medicines.

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As the number of tuberculosis cases increases, so has the number of
drug-resistant patients. The threat of resistant tuberculosis further
underscores the importance of seeking professional medical help.

"Sometimes resistance can happen when patients use inappropriate
medicines from private clinics or stop taking medicines in the middle
of the treatment," he said.

Ros Samart, 47, who has had tuberculosis for almost a year, stressed
the importance of hospital care.

"I didn't know I had tuberculosis, so I bought the medicines near my
house, but I did not recover," he said. "I have been at the hospital
for more than a month."

Teang Sy Vanna, the deputy director of the National Anti-tuberculosis
Centre at the Ministry of Health, said that due to new multi-drug
treatments, the amount of time it takes to cure tuberculosis has
halved to only six months - if patients get the proper treatment.

"We know that the medicines we are using at moment are more effective
than those we used before. Now, one tablet is made from a combination
of two or three different drugs," he said.

It is not just better drug cocktails, but also improved training that
has made the nation's hospitals better at fighting the deadly disease.

"Many international partners have given us advice about how to use of
the new multi-substance medicine. The medicines have few adverse side
effects because now we are properly trained," he said.
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