SILVER SPRING, Md.--In Peru, a country with one of the highest tuberculosis (TB) incidence rates in Latin America, the number of cases exhibiting multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) or extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has increased significantly, threatening to erode the progress that the country has made towards eradicating the deadly disease, says the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

"These types of TB, are a serious threat to the effectiveness of our control strategy," said Walter Britton, country director for ADRA Peru. "They are not only highly contagious, and difficult to treat, but can also be fatal."

MDR-TB is a type of tuberculosis that is resistant to at least two of the most powerful anti-TB drugs. XDR-TB is resistant to most of the currently available anti-TB drugs. Both strains are often caused by inappropriate treatment, missed doses, or a failure to complete treatment. In response, ADRA is partnering with the School of Medicine at San Marcos National University and the Peruvian Association of Persons Affected by Tuberculosis (ASPAT-Peru), to implement a 27-month project to curb the spread of the deadly disease.

The project, which began July 1, 2009, is designed to increase access to quality care for those infected with TB, or MDR-TB, by strengthening the capacities of those responding to, and affected by the epidemic. It will directly benefit 1,368 patients with MDR-TB, 120 patients suffering from XDR-TB, and health personnel in 25 health centers.

By its completion in 2011, the consortium will have established centers that will be used exclusively for the treatment of tuberculosis in 19 hospitals throughout the nation, and 12 health centers in the regions of Lima and Callao. It will also educate patients infected with TB and the HIV virus, regarding how to adequately treat the co-infection, increase access to health care, treatment, and social support for those infected with MDR-TB and XDR-TB.

In addition, 20 representatives from local community watch groups and 715 community health agents will benefit from the initiative.

ADRA is also working with the Peruvian Ministry of Health and local governmental authorities to effectively execute the intervention under a larger program titled, "Closing Gaps to Achieve Millennium Development Goals for TB and HIV/AIDS in Peru", that is currently being carried out by CARE Peru.

This $4.2 million initiative is being funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and implemented in the regions of Ica, Arequipa, La Libertad, Piura, Lambayeque, Cusco, Ancash, Junin, Puno, Lima, and Callao.

TB is an infectious airborne disease that infects more than 2 billion people around the world, with 98 percent of all TB related deaths occurring in developing countries, said the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one TB-infected person can infect, on average, up to 15 other people a year.

ADRA Peru, which began work in 1965 as Obra Filantropica y Asistencia Social Adventista (OFASA), is recognized today as one of the largest non-governmental organizations in Peru. It works in several key areas, including basic infrastructure, basic education, economic development, health care, democracy and governance, and agriculture.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity.

For more information, visit www.adra.org.