Newswise — Saturday, legislation strengthening tuberculosis (TB) control in the U.S. passed its final hurdle in the U.S. Senate. Unanimous passage of the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act, sponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and Representatives Gene Green (D-TX), Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), follows a similar unanimous vote in the House on September 24, and brings to fruition the American Thoracic Society's leadership efforts on TB in coalition with the National TB Controllers Association and Stop TB USA.
"This legislation is important to the health and well-being of every American," said Jo Rae Wright, Ph.D., president of the American Thoracic Society. "We cannot afford to be complacent at a time when drug-resistant TB is on the rise worldwide."
Dr. Wright noted that it was fitting that the ATS championed this legislation. The Society was founded in 1905 as the American Sanitorium Association by a group of physicians committed to finding a cure for TB.
"Although TB is treatable and we know how to contain the spread of the disease," added Dr. Wright, "TB remains the second-leading infectious disease killer worldwide, and in today's world of international travel and migration, TB does not respect national boundaries." The legislation will:
* Increase funding for the CDC's domestic TB control program, including state TB control programs; * Ensure vulnerable communities are protected from drug-resistant TB through increased funding and through intensified research efforts directed at combating drug resistant TB;* Expand ongoing and new research efforts at the CDC and the NIH specifically geared toward the development of improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention tools to combat TB; and * Provide support for targeted efforts to detect, treat and prevent TB in the foreign-born population, among U.S. minority populations and along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The American Thoracic Society congratulates the Senate and House sponsors of the legislation--Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and Representatives Gene Green (D-TX), Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)--for their leadership on this important issue.
About the ATS:
Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society has more than 15,000 members who prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe, through research, education, patient care and advocacy.
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