(KPL) The Airborne Infection Defense Platform (AIDP) was officially launched earlier this month to enhance ASEAN countries’ tuberculosis (TB) response, strengthen healthcare systems, and improve pandemic preparedness in addressing the growing issue of airborne respiratory infections.

The platform was introduced during a side event of the 16th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM), which gathered government leaders from ASEAN member states. The event featured opening remarks by Dr. Bounfeng Phoummalaysith, Minister of Health of the Lao PDR, and was attended by Dr. Viengsavanh Kittiphong, Deputy Director of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Health Lao PDR, along with other ASEAN delegations and leaders from the Stop TB Partnership.T

he AIDP aims to improve the understanding of TB and pandemic preparedness across ASEAN, enhance stakeholder cooperation, and strengthen the capacity of nations to address airborne respiratory infections. Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the platform is implemented by the Stop TB Partnership and Stop TB Partnership Indonesia (STPI), a non-governmental organization focused on TB elimination. The initiative has received endorsement from ASEAN member states.

According to the Global TB Report 2023, more than 2.4 million people across ASEAN are estimated to be affected by TB. Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) high burden TB list. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated TB challenges, as resources and personnel were redirected to fight Covid-19, resulting in an estimated increase of nearly half a million additional TB-related deaths from 2020 to 2022.

In Laos, five major risk factors for TB include smoking, alcohol use disorders, undernourishment, HIV, and diabetes, according to WHO. Malnutrition, a common issue among TB patients, increases the risk of TB infection or the activation of its latent form. A 2022 study found that 41% of participants were malnourished, with a BMI under 18.5. That same year, an estimated 10,000 people were diagnosed with TB in Laos, at a rate of 138 per 100,000 population, with 1,000 deaths reported by WHO.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Bounfeng Phoummalaysith emphasized the importance of learning from the Covid-19 pandemic to better prepare for future health crises. “The Covid-19 pandemic impacted nearly every aspect of human life. We must learn from our experiences and be better prepared for any similar situations in the future. Our regional health system is evolving, and we need to create a stronger and more resilient system. The TB program has several management principles that can be easily adopted for any airborne disease, such as rapid screening tools, contact tracing, digital and community systems, and early warning systems. We need to invest in platform technologies and create infrastructure that can be deployed for future airborne pandemics,” he said.

During a leadership dialogue at the event, Dr. Viengsavanh Kittiphong, Deputy Director of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Health Lao PDR, noted that TB remains one of the top public health concerns in Laos. “We have been using new technology such as GenExpert to detect TB, digital X-rays, and early diagnostic tools. We also share information with other ASEAN member states for laboratory capacity building, supporting early detection and diagnosis, and strengthening our primary health care,” she stated.

The AIDP aims to enhance cooperation to combat airborne respiratory infections by working with ASEAN member states and key global organizations to agree upon policies and methodologies. This collaboration includes exchanging knowledge, infrastructure use, platform technology, and manpower to create surge capacity for TB cases and enhance pandemic preparedness.

Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Senior Advisor at Stop TB Partnership Indonesia and Project Lead for the AIDP, highlighted the importance of the platform in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The high death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic showed that the world was not prepared to combat the pandemic. In addition to the loss of human life, Covid-19 also severely impacted TB prevention, access, and treatment programs. The condition of TB in ASEAN is quite concerning, with many countries in the region still facing significant challenges in controlling and managing TB. This demonstrates the importance of working with ASEAN to strengthen the TB response system to not only create surge capacity for TB cases but also enhance pandemic preparedness,” he said.

The AIDP's initial focus will involve conducting a landscape assessment to strengthen pandemic and TB responses in each ASEAN country, particularly at the community and primary care levels. This will include enhancing existing healthcare infrastructure to improve detection, treatment, and prevention, as well as leveraging platform technologies developed since the Covid-19 pandemic. These technologies include portable digital X-rays, which allow for local testing without requiring patients to travel to hospitals or clinics, rapid molecular diagnostic platforms, and real-time digital surveillance tools. Such measures will be critical in facing future pandemics, which are likely to involve airborne infectious diseases.

Dr. Suvanand Sahu, Deputy Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, noted, “The first phase of the AIDP project will improve understanding by carrying out a landscape assessment across 10 ASEAN countries. This will outline the current capacities of each country to respond to TB and future airborne pandemics and recommend actions to achieve better pandemic preparedness. Following this, our second phase will support community-based and primary healthcare activities and initiatives to strengthen the preparedness capacity of TB responses across ASEAN to better address airborne respiratory infections or pandemics. We would like to thank USAID for their continued commitment to tackling TB around the world, particularly in the ASEAN region, whose efforts have culminated in AIDP. We would also like to thank the Government of the Lao PDR for their leadership in convening the first meeting on AIDP.”

Finally, incoming Stop TB Partnership Board Chairman, Dr. Theodore Herbosa, reflected on the lessons learned from the pandemic, stating, “One thing we have learned during the pandemic is that a strong system against TB can be a significant asset in dealing with other airborne diseases. Investing in tackling one airborne infection such as TB is an investment in tackling all airborne infections.”

TB has a high mortality rate of nearly 15%, compared to Covid-19’s 3.5%. Research by Hogan et al. (2020) revealed that TB prevention and treatment were significantly affected during the Covid-19 pandemic, with declines in TB case detection, increased household transmission, reduced BCG vaccination rates, and limited access to TB drugs and testing.

KPL