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The Under Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (March 22) said that the Government attaches great importance to combating tuberculosis (TB). She urged members of the public to maintain continued vigilance against TB, which remains one of the major circulating infectious diseases in the world, although the local TB situation has been gradually brought under control in recent years.
In Hong Kong, TB cases dropped to 4 773 in 2013 (provisional figure) from 4 858 in 2012, a historical low compared with previous years. Despite this improvement, Professor Chan appealed to members of the public for continued support and joint efforts in local TB control at the opening ceremony of a health exhibition today to mark the World TB Day 2014.
"Chest clinics under the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) provide the public with TB examination and full-term clinic treatment free of charge. The TB Reference Laboratory designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) also provides quality support for tubercle bacillus (TB bacteria) testing. The Hospital Authority (HA) provides in-patient services to TB patients in need. Local chest experts have been working closely with overseas counterparts on better TB control and diagnosis," Professor Chan said.
She noted that multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) was a new global challenge. As inappropriate use of anti-TB drugs has caused traditional treatment for MDR-TB to become ineffective while new treatment has not been satisfactory, MDR-TB is more threatening than the usual forms of TB. In its Global TB Report 2013, the WHO drew Member States' attention to the challenge of MDR-TB and highly recommended the method of directly observed treatment (DOT). It also advised healthcare professionals to directly monitor patients to take medication regularly and provide them with appropriate assistance.
Also attending the ceremony today, the Controller of the CHP, Dr Leung Ting-hung, said that an ageing population and an increasing number of immunocompromised patients were potential factors for an increase of TB cases in the future. He appealed to members of the public to maintain vigilance and take preventive measures, including a balanced diet, suitable exercise and adequate rest, good indoor ventilation, as well as avoiding tobacco. If symptoms develop, such as persistent cough, blood in sputum, persistent fever, night sweating and weight loss, they should promptly seek medical advice.
"If infected, personal and public hygiene should be enhanced. Patients should take DOT regularly under medical advice upon effective completion of the whole treatment course," Dr Leung added.
According to the WHO's statistics, 8.6 million new TB cases were reported globally in 2012, including 1.3 million deaths. In addition, there were 0.45 million cases of MDR-TB around the world, with 10 per cent being extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). Locally, the incidence rates of new cases of MDR-TB and XDR-TB have remained low at 1 per cent and 0.1 per cent among bacteriologically positive cases respectively.
March 24 of each year is designated as the World TB Day by the WHO to urge global efforts in combating TB together. This year, the local theme is "Working together to control TB". Co-organised by the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association, the DH and the HA, the ceremony today, which is bundled with a two-day long health exhibition at The Westwood, Western District, is aimed at promoting public awareness on TB control through exhibition boards and booths. The Chairman of the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association, Mr Steve Lan, and the Chairman of the HA, Professor John Leong, also attended the ceremony.
For more TB-related information, services and figures, the public may visit the CHP's page on the World TB Day (www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/33520.html), the website of the Tuberculosis and Chest Service (www.info.gov.hk/tb_chest), call the TB telephone hotline (2572 6024) or browse the WHO's TB page (www.who.int/tb).
Ends/Saturday, March 22, 2014
Issued at HKT 13:47
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