TB concerns grip China

China is one of the countries being affected most by multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB, a new report has claimed.

Research published in the Lancet from the World Health Organisation has suggested that people in a number of former Soviet States are also at the highest risk of TB.

The frequency of MDR-TB among new cases was up to seven per cent in China between 2002 and 2007.

This figure increased to between seven and 22 per cent in nine countries formerly in the Soviet Union, with Moldova reaching 19 per cent.

Dr Abigail Wright, Dr Dennis Falzon and colleagues wrote: "The data presented here show that of the half a million MDR-TB cases estimated to have emerged in 2006, 50 per cent were in India and China alone.

"Currently, the world is far behind reaching the targets for MDR-tuberculosis diagnosis and management set out in the second Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015."

Just 27 countries make up 86 per cent of MDR-TB cases across the world.

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