North Korea is grappling with a strain of the deadly lung disease tuberculosis that is resistant to conventional treatment. Humanitarian workers say the impoverished communist country, which already has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis outside of sub-Saharan Africa, is unable to cope with the outbreak. Most victims could die of the disease within years. But some help is coming from an outside foundation.
North Korea Struggling to Fight Epidemic of Drug-Resistant TB
Stephen Linton of the Eugene Bell Foundation speaking with a tuberculosis patient and his family in North Korea, (Eugene Bell Foundation)
Stephen Linton, chairman of the Eugene Bell Foundation, speaking to VOA News, at his office in Seoul, November 11, 2011. (VOA - S. L. Herman)
Stephen Linton speaking with medical professionals and patients at a North Korean clinic. (Eugene Bell Foundation)
Medical supplies for treating TB arrive donated by an NGO in South Korea and the U.S. at a clinic in North Korea. (Eugene Bell Foundation)
TB patients at a clinic in North Korea. (Eugene Bell Foundation)