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SANTO DOMINGO. - Dominican Republic figures as having America’s third highest tuberculosis index, said today Dr. Manuel Vasquez, a Pan-American Health Organization (OPS) expert. "In the disease’s line of prevalence in the Americas, Dominican Republic occupies third place, after Brazil and Haiti."

The OPS consultant for transmissible tuberculosis and other diseases said the Caribbean nation is among the Latin American countries with more than 85 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. “Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Guatemala are also on that list."

Vazquez said from 2002 to 2006 the funds for programs to control the disease –which he said affects an estimated 1.9 billion people worldwide with 9 million added each year- rose from 876 million to 1.6 billion dollars.

The OPS expert spoke in the First Regional Tuberculosis Symposium, concluded Tuesday in Santiago (north), the second largest Dominican city.

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COMMENTS
8 comment(s)
Written by: josean, 9 Apr 2008 10:05 AM
From: United States
Wear your gas masks when you ride the priority; I mean METRO.

Great news for the tourism industry.

Who needs health care and preventive medicine anyway.

Eh Palante que vamos!
Written by: NYCDR, 9 Apr 2008 12:35 PM
From: United States
TB is no joking matter JOSEAN
Written by: josean, 9 Apr 2008 12:39 PM
From: United States
What makes you think I am joking!
Written by: josean, 9 Apr 2008 12:41 PM
From: United States
The only trajic joke in DR is Lie-onel, the PLD and their blind suppoters!
Written by: BASTA, 9 Apr 2008 1:49 PM
From: Dominican Republic, =Ghetto/Legalize Drugs
Hey; give lie-onel a break. At least he did one and only one thing. He has cleaned the garbage from most of our roads and that is a huge undertaking being that our people are the #2 swine in the world. Even our so called educated elite fling their empty scotch and beer bottles out of their SUVs onto the roads.
Written by: NYCDR, 11 Apr 2008 10:09 AM
From: United States
Josean, reread your comment.
Its a serious matter. every 15 seconds a person dies of TB in the world.
Its a neglected disease with outdated medicine that takes 6-9 months to cure if the patient takes the regimen in full. Unfortunately, most people begin to feel good in a couple of days and dont come back to the hospital to continue the treatment.
The major problem is that when the patient does this...the disease may take even longer to cure, or can never be cured.
the other problem is that when people have HIV, they cannot take the TB medicine because you can only take one treatment at a time. In other words, the patient dies of HIV or TB. :(

Big pharma is not interested in diseases that dont create money to their stockholders (ie:viagra, lipitor, etc) .
TB is a disease in under developed countries, it not really a profit making medicine. The medicine for TB is outdated. It has not advanced since the 50's.
:(

Written by: arcatype This user is banned, 1 May 2008 4:25 PM
From: Dominican Republic
Thanks to haitian illegal immigration.
Written by: NYCDR, 2 May 2008 7:22 AM
From: United States
Well yes that is true in part. But the problem is still there, and needs to be resolved!!!
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