Long Heng: Tuberclosis in 2010 in Cambodia

Health Ministry launched second national Tuberculosis prevalence survey in Cambodia




.Cambodia’ Health ministry and development partners on July 30 launched the second National Tuberculosis prevalence survey in the country in purpose of seeking urgent ways to combat TB infection and prevent its spread for local people, and implementing the millennium development goals in 2015.

“Fighting against TB is contributing to poverty reduction and reach to implement the MDGs,” H.E Dr. Mao Tan Eang, director of national center of tuberculosis and leprosy control said that now good drug is effective for treatment of TB. “Infection number of TB decreased from 928 cases per 100,000 people in 1990 to 665 cases 100,000 people in 2007. We got the success remarkably, and currently we are trying to do it,” he said, adding that TB services have provided about 1000 health referral centers and hospitals. We thanked to patients and doctors who cooperated to treat TB, he states. Our goal we want to reduce the infection rate to 464 cases per 100,000 people in 2015, he added. We found over 40,000 people in 2010 and 20,000 people found TB infection for the six months of this year.



“Our survey is a key of program to join to fight against TB spread, and reach to our goal, he maintained.
He announced at the event that the national tuberculosis (TB) prevalence survey funded by Japan international cooperation agency (JICA) the united states agency for international development (USAID) and global fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) is now being prepared by the National center for tuberculosis and leprosy control (CENAT), ministry of health. The survey will start in October, 2010 and be carried out in 62 areas randomly selected from the whole country around 40,000 participants aged 15 years old or older by CENAT with the technical support of JICA and WHO. The preliminary results of survey will be assessed in November 2011.

He stressed infectious disease control particularly TB control is one of the priority areas in millennium development goals, and CENAT has been tackling this issue in collaboration with many national and international partners. The first survey in 2002 revealed that 269 per 100,000 populations were suffered from TB disease with TB bacilli in their sputum.

“Cambodia is still one of the highest burden countries in the world in the rank with China, Vietnam, and Philippines. The second survey will be able to contribute to not only providing scientific, reliable information on TB burden in Cambodia but also bringing rich fruits for the national TB control program (NTP) by showing its downward trend in serious infectious TB cases,” Dr Eang said, adding we get about one -two millions US dollars for conducting this pilot program.
Dr. Poeu Satha, project coordinator of National TB prevalence in Cambodia said that with high quality prevalence survey may show the impact of the national and international investments in TB control in Cambodia. The second survey is expected to show stronger evidence of a downward trend in TB prevalence in Cambodia due to dots expand since 2001.
“The primary objectives is to determine the prevalence of pulmonary TB among the population aged 15 years or older as measured by smear positive pulmonary TB and culture positive pulmonary,” Dr Poeu said, adding that second objective is to identify the prevalence of TB suspects, health seeking behaviors through defined health seeking behaviors of TB patients and individuals reporting chest symptoms, use of the private sector for TB care as reflected in the proportion of TB patients under treatment in the private sector,” ###