Rome (Fides Service) - About 9 million people develop tuberculosis every year, most live in developing countries where 99% of deaths recorded are due to TB.
In view of World TB Day on March 24 the humanitarian organisation Doctors without Frontiers has warned that without a simple, rapid and cheap diagnosis test to diagnose cases of TB health workers in developing countries will continue to lose half of their patients who need anti-TB therapy.
In developing countries TB is still diagnosed with a test produced 123 years ago and which is not effective for children. The test identifies the TB bacillus in only about 45-60% of the people affected and it is still less effective when the persons undergoing the test are HIV+. In fact about 30% of the 40 HIV+ persons in the world also have TB, one of the most frequent opportunistic infections and the main cause of death among people with AIDS. (AP) (22/3/2005 Agenzia Fides; Righe:19; Parole:226)