FIGHTING TUBERCULOSIS IN FINLAND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000083 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/PGI/DTESSLER AND OES/IHB/ALAURIZEN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO WHO XG FI SUBJECT: FIGHTING TUBERCULOSIS IN FINLAND REF: STATE 6989 ¶1. Per reftel request, Post contacted Ministry of Social Affairs and Health's Ministerial Counselor Anni Virolainen-Julkunen and Finnish Lung Health Association's Medical Adviser Arvid Nyberg to gain information on the status of implementation in Finland of the Berlin Declaration on Tuberculosis. The assessment is contained in the following paragraphs. ¶2. Finland has a long history of Tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics, treatment and monitoring. Due to determined and persistent efforts TB has dropped significantly in Finland in the last 40 years and the rate of the spread of infection between population groups when it does occur is very low. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),the TB incidence rate was six per 100,000 (339 cases) in 2005, only 3 percent of the level prevailing in the early 1960s (TB incidence 172/100,000). The positive trend has continued: in 2006, 295 new TB cases were reported and in 2007 the number of new cases was 266, according to the national TB expert organization, the National Public Health Institute (KTL). Finland differs from the other Nordic countries in that the majority of TB cases are detected in people aged 65 and older (who contracted TB infection in their youth) and only a smaller proportion (10-20%) of cases are detected in immigrants. Childhood TB is very rare in Finland, with four to ten cases registered in children in the whole country. As a result of Finland meeting the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IATLD) criteria for discontinuing universal Bacille Calmette- Gurin (BCG) vaccination programs and following an increase of BCG vaccination complications, Finland halted mass BCG vaccination of newborns in September 2006. A new KTL supervised BCG vaccination program was introduced and Finland moved to target risk groups instead (immigrants from high TB risk countries). New TB control program ¶3. To enhance awareness and knowledge of TB and to support the change to the new BCG vaccination program, Finnish Lung Health Association (Filha)in cooperation with KTL and supported by the Ministry for Social Affairs and Health (MoSAH),drafted a new Tuberculosis Control Program for Finland, which was released in August 2006, and will be updated by 2012. The goal of the program is early detection, efficient and successful treatment in 80 percent of those with infectious pulmonary TB, efficient prevention of new infections, reduction in the risk of contracting TB and improved knowledge and skills of Finland's health care staff. The implementation of the new TB control Program addresses commitments taken by the Berlin Declaration signatories. ¶4. Compared with previous practices, the most significant changes in the new TB Control Program are specific measures aimed at risk groups, more efficient prevention of TB transmission in institutions, the appointment of a national expert group, specific guidelines for hospital districts, more effective supervision of treatment and co-ordination of monitoring, targeting BCG vaccinations at risk groups, and increasing training and research. All hospital districts in Finland have appointed persons responsible for regional TB know-how and they were tasked to draw up hospital district specific guidelines by the end of 2007. ¶5. To address the extremely-drug resistant (XDR)-TB challenge, all hospital personnel are instructed on how to handle the XDR-TB disease, and incubation units have already been set up in some hospitals to handle XDR patients. Two national TB Expert Groups have been established to monitor and support the implementation of the National Tuberculosis program. The National TB Prevention expert group, headed by KTL Research Professor Petri Ruutu, which meets 2-3 times a year, is presently drafting a TB treatment outcome monitoring system for Finland to be released in 2008. The National TB Treatment expert group, headed by Specialist in Respiratory Medicine at Turku University Hospital Tuula Vasankari, acts as the national expert body to be consulted in problematic TB, multi-drug resistant (MDR)/XDR cases. This group meets as needed, but at least 3-4 times a year. The possibility that MDR-TB and XDR-TB may spread to Finland from neighboring countries has been a cause of concern, although one which has so far not been realized. There have been a few separate MDR-TB cases (2-5 per year) but no outbreaks detected. KTL anticipates Individual XDR cases as opposed to a widespread outbreak. HELSINKI 00000083 002 OF 002 National TB Expert Organizations ¶6. KTL's Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control (INFE),the national coordinator for the EU monitoring network of infectious diseases (EuroTB),works in close collaboration with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to gather information about the occurrence of infectious diseases, epidemics and suspected epidemics, as well as the related risk factors, and provide instructions for municipal authorities to obtain and manage epidemic information and, when necessary, assist them in these matters. In addition to applied epidemiological research, INFE's HIV laboratory and viral vaccine laboratory conduct basic research in the field of microbiology and cell biology, and is in charge of the quality control of laboratories specializing in clinical diagnostic microbiology. ¶7. INFE's weekly updated and publicly available Infectious Diseases Register provides detailed statistics about infectious diseases, including TB, in Finland. Doctors are obliged to report on infectious diseases (TB, diphtheria, hepatitis, malaria, HIV, poliomyelitis, cholera and rabies),and microbiological laboratories report any occurrence of infectious diseases and related observations. As part of an effort to improve the fight against TB, and meet the Berlin declaration commitments, the TB treatment outcome also must be submitted to INFE's Infectious Disease Register, starting January 1, 2008. ¶8. Finnish Lung Health Association (Filha - former Finnish Anti-Tuberculosis Association) implements in Finland the new National Tuberculosis Control Program together with MoSAH and KTL, by working nationally and internationally to promote public health in the field of TB and lung diseases. Filha's main task is to enhance prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of these diseases, by acting as a collaborative body of experts in designing and implementing national disease control programs, providing consulting, training and information for health care personnel in Finland, Russia and Estonia, collaborating with the public and private sectors in its activities, promoting international collaboration in lung diseases and expert exchange, supporting the battle against TB in Russia and high incidence countries in collaboration with Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice, and supporting medical research in the field of lung diseases. Filha is the WHO Collaborating Centre for Prevention, Control and Treatment of TB, partner in the "Stop TB" strategy, and member of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD),and the Tuberculosis Surveillance Unit (TSRU). ¶9. Finland is an active partner in the international effort to combat TB. Each year Finland funds numerous joint projects in St Petersburg, the Leningrad region, the Karelian Republic and Murmansk (Filha's Karelia Republic TB Project 2000-2010, Murmansk Region TB Project 1997-2007, and St Petersburg TB Project 2002-2008 etc). The main issues of cooperation are the eradication of contagious diseases such as TB and HIV. Finland also supports WHO's projects in Russia on TB and HIV. WARE