Tuberculosis Research & Management Project

The Tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in Cambodia only gains a fraction of the interest that it warrants. No-one knows the percentage of Cambodians that carry the disease, but Kantha Bopha records indicate that about 65% of children tested are infected, and Kantha Bopha is the only paediatric institution that has the technology (CT scanners, pathology etc) and the expertise to attain accurate diagnosis statistics.

TB is an insidious disease which can attack many parts of the body such as the brain and the spine in addition to the more common pulmonary (lung) condition. TB undermines the immune system and exacerbates other diseases dramatically. TB is the number one killer in Cambodia.

It is curious that this epidemic is largely ignored by the west. There seems to be any amount of money and support for any diseases which have the capacity to infect people in the West. (AIDS, Avian Flu, SARS, for example), but TB is a disease of the poor.

In Cambodia, TB emerged in the refuge camps in the 1970s after the American bombing, which left approx 500,000 dead and 2,000,000 homeless. Cambodia was not at war with the US. The disease took further hold in the horrific labour camps of the Pol Pot era.

TB can be treated but there is currently no effective preventative. The Kantha Bopha hospitals have treated hundreds of thousands of infected children and probably have the best database in the world. For some years the University of Berne (Switzerland, homeland of Dr Beat Richner) has worked with Kantha Bopha in paediatric TB research. In March 2007 they jointly conducted a symposium on epidemiological, clinical and immunological aspects of childhood tuberculosis, with particular emphasis on the Cambodian situation.

The hospital in Siem Reap (Jayavarman V11) has a maternity ward in which around 1,000 children are delivered each month. Dr Beat Richner has long suspected some type of vertical transmission of TB from mother to child. If such a link can be demonstrated, and the method by which that transmission takes place, it will have enormous consequences for the fight against a disease that kills millions worldwide each year.

The Dr Beat Support Group would like to assist Kantha Bopha in its ongoing research into vertical transmission, preventative vaccine, improved diagnostic methods and treatment regimes. Kantha Bopha requires $1mill USD pa to continue this work. We have pledged our support to this research project for a period of 3 years beginning September 2007.

100% of funds collected will go directly to Kantha Bopha. Australian donations for eligible development activities are tax deductible.

To make a donation please contact the O’Neill Foundation.
www.oneillfoundation.com.au

For more information please contact:

or visit the Kantha Bopha website on www.beatocello.com