N. Korea dogged by multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a serious health problem in North Korea due to a lack of proper treatment drugs and facilities, the head of a South Korean charity group said Wednesday.

Stephen Linton, who heads the Eugene Bell foundation and recently visited the North to deliver drugs, said that the virulent strain of tuberculosis is being reported all across the isolated country.

"It is a serious health condition among many North Koreans," the medical doctor, who speaks fluent Korean, said at a press conference in Anyang, south of Seoul.

Linton was in North Korea from April 18 through last Saturday to visit treatment centers in North and South Pyongan provinces and the capital city of Pyongyang. He had received permission to visit the North from the Seoul government, which has stressed it wants to extend humanitarian aid to help the needy in the North.

He said the charity foundation's efforts permitted many people to be treated, but many more were not getting proper medical attention.

Reports have shown that of those diagnosed with tuberculosis in the North every year, about 15,000 become MDR-TB cases because of inadequate initial treatment. Taking proper medication can easily cure people suffering from tuberculosis, although a person deprived of medication will have to use more expensive medication down the line and may need to be admitted to a hospital.

The foundation chairman said that despite strained inter-Korean relations, donations continue to come in that make it possible to buy the necessary drugs and pay for the visits to the communist country. He said the group needs 2 billion won (US$1.8 million) to 2.5 billion won for its operations. Linton said he visits the North roughly twice a year.

On any discernible changes noticed on his latest trip, the chairman made clear he felt no difference.

"I visit the country twice a year to deliver drugs and check developments, and everything is normal," he said.