ACTIVISTS CALL FOR ACTION TO CONTROL TB IN KENYA

Activists have warned that Kenya risks falling victim to new drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB), found elsewhere in Africa, if the government fails to take the TB epidemic more seriously, reports UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

"Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XDR) TB are a direct consequence of non-adherence to treatment regimens," Ignatius Kibe, a member of the Kenya AIDS NGO Coalition, told IRIN. "More resources must be pumped into prevention of non-adherence."

XDR-TB has been detected in South Africa, but so far no cases have been found in Kenya.

MDR-TB develops when a TB strain becomes resistant to two or more first-line antibiotic drugs, and XDR-TB develops when a TB strain becomes resistant to two or more second-line antibiotics.

Kenya is ranked 10th on the United Nations World Health Organization's list of 22 countries that bear 80 percent of the world's TB burden.

Kenya AIDS NGO Coalition noted in a memorandum handed to the government earlier this month that while there had been some success in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, the time had come for the authorities to pay more attention to TB.