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Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department
The ICN has issued guidelines for nurses pertaining to patient-centered care through the short
course of directly observed treatment (DOTS) for TB.
The World Health Organization reported in 2005 that 182 countries employed DOTS strategies
during 2003, and that as a result of such strategies, global TB prevalence fell globally by 5%
between 2002 and 2003.
The same report noted that in 2003, global TB prevalence was falling or stable in five out of six
WHO regions, with the exception of the Africa region, where incidence had been rising more
quickly in areas of HIV prevalence.
The net result is that global figures of TB are currently rising at 1% on an annual basis.
On World TB Day 2006, an increase in levels of drug-resistant TB was announced, underlying the
growing risk posed by the disease.
TB in prisons remains a major concern.
2.8.2 Avian Influenza
In 2005, the avian influenza virus (bird flu) spread in epidemic proportions among poultry in China,
Cambodia, Indonesia Thailand, and Viet Nam.
In its severest form – highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) – bird flu can be fatal on the first
day of developing symptoms.
It is this severe form of bird flu that was first reported to have infected domestic poultry, ducks,
pigs, tigers and some humans in Asia during late 2004.
The World Health Organization and medical researchers have predicted that if the avian flu virus
mutates to become infectious through direct transmission between humans, it could cause a
worldwide pandemic.
52 Academic Year 2025/2026
