Cote d'Ivoire: Tuberculosis infections spreading
Tuberculosis (TB) infections in Côte d'Ivoire increased 9 percent between 2006 and 2008, and almost 10 percent of the cases were multi-drug resistant, according to new World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of Health data.
A young boy is given a vaccination at a health centre in Gongoni, Malindi, Kenya, July 2007 (Image: Allan Gichigi/IRIN)
“The total increase corresponds to an increase of 23,000 cases detected,” said Jacquemin Kouakou, director of the anti-tuberculosis unit at the Health Ministry.
In 2005 there were 18,000 cases of TB in Côte d'Ivoire, rising to 21,000 in 2006, the last time data was available. “The situation is very worrying,” Kouakou said.
