The World Health Organization (WHO) urged Asian countries to take action against the growing threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), warning that even more virulent forms of the disease could spread if they fail to do so." According to the WHO, "many Asian countries lack adequate laboratory facilities to detect multidrug-resistant TB, and only one percent of the estimated 150,000 people infected with the disease in East Asia and the Pacific are receiving appropriate treatment." The agency stated that "multidrug-resistant TB is caused by mismanagement of standard tuberculosis treatment, and that mobility, migration, and urban housing are also fueling the highly contagious disease." This type of TB, "which resists treatment by at least two of the best anti-TB drugs, accounts for five percent of nine million new tuberculosis cases worldwide." The WHO noted that "drug-resistant TB is also a serious problem in the Philippines."
