WHAT:
Release of startling findings from the latest World Health Organization report on multi-drug-resistant strains in tuberculosis (MDR-TB):
A total of 300,000 cases; most exist where HIV is spreading fastest
79% of MDR TB are “super strains” resistant to 3 of 4 first-line drugs
TB patients in Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union are 10 times more likely to have MDR-TB.
Often fatal, MDR-TB requires aggressive 2-year treatment that, when successful, costs up to $250,000 per patient in the U.S. Drugs developed decades ago are no match against an estimated 90,000 different resistant strains. MDR-TB is most worrisome in places where American trade and security priorities dovetail: Russia, India and China.
The WHO and the TB Alliance will host a teleconference for U.S. media to discuss the comprehensive three-pronged strategy for the MDR-TB solution:
Expansion of existing treatment capacity
Policy initiatives to build on President Bush’s $15 billion pledge to fight AIDS & TB
Public-private partnerships to develop novel drugs that save 65% of healthcare expenses
WHEN:
Tuesday 16th March 2004 at 9:30am EST (U.S.)
* Please note that this report is under a global media embargo until 12:01 am GMT Tuesday, March 16 (7:01 pm EST, Monday, March 15)
WHO:
Participants on the phone briefing include:
Dr. Jack Chow, Assistant Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)
Representative Sherrod Brown, People of Ohio’s 13th District (D-OH)
Dr. Ken Castro, Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Dr. Maria C. Freire, CEO, Global Alliance for TB Drug Development
Dr. Anne Peterson, Assistant Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Global Health
HOW:
To participate in this media phone briefing, please dial the following U.S. toll free number: 888-928-9122 (enter pass code: MDRTB).
Further instructions on how to participate on the Q&A with the speakers will be issued during the call.