Aggressive tuberculosis control could yield substantial economic gains for poor countries, according to a World Bank research report released on Wednesday.
Highly affected African countries could gain up to 9 times their investments in TB control, said the study, the Economic Benefit of Global Investments in Tuberculosis Control.
It warned that despite recent gains in fighting TB, there were still 8.8 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths from the disease in 2005.
Without treatment, two-thirds of smear-positive cases die within five to eight years, with most dying within 18 months of being infected, said the study.
The economic impact of TB deaths and the benefits of TB control among the 22 high-burden countries are greatest in China and India, where the combination of growing incomes and a relatively high number of TB deaths translates into a significant economic effect, the study added.
The study, which was commissioned by the World Bank on behalf of the Stop TB Partnership and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has attracted considerable interest from international health and development agencies, along with research and civil society groups, which want more aggressive TB control worldwide. The disease is the leading infectious killer of adults after HIV/AIDS.
"This report set out to test whether the economic benefits of TB control are greater than the costs. It turns out that likely benefits are of impressive magnitude," said Dr. Jorge Sampaio, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy to stop TB, and former president of Portugal.
"This report should wake up countries to the urgent need for a stronger financial commitment to TB control," said Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
"Effective TB control has a positive impact on the lives of the millions of people infected with TB, on whole communities and it reduces the burden of disease on national economies," he added.
Source: Xinhua/agencies
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