Focus: Fighting TB and diabetes in the Pacific Islands
Channel: CNS
Date: 2015-09-01

Many of the 22 countries that comprise the Pacific Islands region have very high rates of type-2 diabetes (upto 37% prevalence in adults) and high rates of TB as well (upto 343 cases per 100000). In fact 7 of the world’s top 10 countries with the highest prevalence of diabetes are in the Pacific Islands region: Tokelau, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Cook island, Nauru, Micronesia and Kiribati. Similarly, some countries also have very high TB rates. It is no wonder then that the problem of TB-diabetes co-morbidity afflicts this region as well.

CNS spoke with Dr Richard Brostrom, State TB Branch Chief and Pacific Regional Medical Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); in Sydney where the 5th Asia Pacific Region Conference on Lung Health was held. 

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FULL ARTICLE is online at: http://www.citizen-news.org/2015/09/pacific-approach-to-deal-with-dual.html

Focus, is a CNS video series on current global health and development priorities. This is episode 4.

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