BELGIUM HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS, TARGETS CHALLENGES ON

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 000512 SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/LISA MILLER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO SENV SOCI TBIO BE SUBJECT: BELGIUM HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS, TARGETS CHALLENGES ON WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY REF: A. STATE 4510 ¶B. STATE 17303 ¶1. (U) Summary: In observance of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24, 2009, Belgium primarily reflected upon the progress it has achieved in addressing the disease. The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp hosted a medical conference to highlight medical improvements. An EU-funded project, "New Medicines for Tuberculosis," announced in Brussels the discovery of a potential new drug to treat tuberculosis, the first of its kind in 40 years. While TB cases in Belgium have dropped below 0.01 percent, Belgian media focused on the increase of TB cases in those who are also infected with HIV/AIDS. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Antwerp,s Institute of Tropical Medicine sponsored a medical conference on World Tuberculosis Day entitled, "Tuberculosis: Still a Global Emergency." The day-long conference featured speakers from Europe and Latin America, with topics ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of TB to lectures exploring the European Commission's ongoing Seven Framework Program (FP7) to combat TB. ¶3. (U) Earlier, on March 19, the EU-funded research project, "New Medicines for Tuberculosis" (NM4TB),announced the discovery of a new drug candidate to fight TB. The project involves researchers from 14 countries around the world. In pre-clinical research, the drug has showed promising results in treating TB, including extensively drug-resistant forms, without side effects. The medicine targets a specific enzyme needed by the bacterium to reproduce, and researchers therefore hope to not only treat the disease but also minimize its contagiousness as well. A new TB-specific drug hasn,t been developed in 40 years. ¶4. (U) This year, the number of reported TB cases in Belgium fell below 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (0.0097 percent),continuing a recent downward trend. More than half of the TB cases in Belgium reportedly originate elsewhere. ¶5. (U) While there was a general decrease in cases overall, Belgium, like most EU states, saw a rise in TB cases among at-risk groups, including those infected with HIV/AIDS and those of foreign origin. There is some worry in Belgium that the current economic crisis may lead to a surge of TB cases due to a decline in living conditions. ¶6. (U) Belgian media on World TB Day focused almost exclusively on the heightened danger of joint HIV/AIDS-TB infection. French-language newspapers Le Soir and La Libre cited World Health Organization statistics showing an increase of these cases; those statistics indicated that one in four TB-related deaths worldwide somehow involve HIV/AIDS. BUSH .