World TUBERCULOSIS (TB) Day 「世界防癆日」

3月24日乃「世界防癆日」，本港據衞生署統計資料，香港每年仍有七千宗肺結核呈報個案，每年約有二百多人被奪去性命。提醒大家更是時候預防肺結核和其他傳染病的重要性，因今天病毒和病菌變種的危機比以前更為顯著！

以下是世界衛生組織﹝WHO﹞的新聞稿撮要：
A press release by the WHO on 22 March 2007 indicated that the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic has levelled off for the first time since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared TB a public health emergency in 1993. The Global Tuberculosis Control Report released today by WHO finds that the percentage of the world's population struck by TB peaked in 2004 and then held steady in 2005. "We are currently seeing both the fruits of global action to control TB and the lethal nature of the disease’s ongoing burden," said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Although the rate at which people developed TB in 2005 was level or even declined slightly compared to 2004, the actual number of TB cases continued to rise slowly. The reason for this difference is that world population is expanding. The number of cases in 2005 was 8 787 000, up from 8 718 000 in 2004.

An estimated 1.6 million people died of the disease in 2005, 195 000 of them people living with HIV. Indeed, TB is a major cause of death among people living with HIV/AIDS, and HIV is the main reason for failure to meet TB control targets in high HIV settings, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/AIDS is dramatically fuelling the TB epidemic. The spread of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) poses a serious threat to progress and could even reverse recent gains. "We have a clear plan on how to control XDR-TB, but countries are moving far too slowly on implementing this plan. Funding is an issue as well -- it will take an additional US$ 650 million globally to implement control of both XDR-TB and multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in 2007 alone," said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Stop TB Department.

The Report finds that the WHO Regions of the Americas, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific are now on track to meet their 2015 Global Plan Targets; while the African, Eastern Mediterranean and European regions are not. WHO's 2005 targets of 70% case detection and 85% cure were narrowly missed globally: case detection was 60% and treatment success was 84%.

For full release, please see HIV/AIDS and other obstacles still thwarting progress

響應3月22日世界水日

在香港，我們只需在家扭開水龍頭，便可享用清潔食水。同時，絕大部分的家居均設有廁所，市集中亦很易找到公廁。你可有想過現時全球每六個人便有一個缺乏清潔食水、每五個人便有兩個缺乏衛生設施和每日有3,800名兒童死於因此而引致的疾病。

為此，聯合國自1993年起，把每年的3月22日定為「世界水日」，呼籲各國珍惜和好好使用水資源。欲知更多相關資料，可擊入以下網站瀏覽
(1) 世界宣明會
(2) 2007年世界水日
(3) World Water Day

朋友們，希望你把這消息傳開，並參與珍惜用水！