Air travel blamed for TB spread

Air travel has been cited as a major factor in the spread of new forms of tuberculosis that are resistant to drugs. According to a report in The Guardian, the World Health Organisation estimates that there are some 300,000 cases of multi-drug resistant TB in the world at present – and that, because of widespread air travel, no countries are immune from the disease. Paul Nunn, of the WHO’s Stop TB department, is quoted as saying that aircraft passengers are capable of spreading the condition in an uncontrollable manner, because it can be spread by people who do not know they have it. He reportedly said: “The Boeing 747 is the vector of this disease and it is not susceptible to vector control.” And Paul Sommerfield, of the TB Alert charity in the UK, said: “This is an airborne infectious disease. It is not possible to isolate any part of the world from the rest of the world.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad