Thursday is World Tuberculosis Day, which commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB).

The World Health Organization, the US, China, and countries around the world mark this day by recognizing the lives and stories of people affected by TB.

Today, we join them in celebrating the lives saved because of innovative interventions to support early detection of infection and proper treatment for TB.

We also remind ourselves that the fight against this ancient plague, and its more dangerous modern forms such as multi-drug resistant TB and extensively drug resistant TB, is far from over and will require discovering new ways for diagnosing, treating and managing the disease.

The US government is a global leader in combating TB and focuses its programs on expanding TB services in the countries and regions most affected by this disease. It provides vital global technical leadership in epidemiology and surveillance, laboratory strengthening, and clinical/operational research to accelerate actions to control TB.

In addition, it addresses the multiple other dimensions and challenges including TB/HIV-AIDS co-infection, multi-drug resistant and extensively drug resistant TB, as well as improving health delivery systems and building stronger community awareness.

Battling TB is also a key component of US President Barack Obama's Global Health Initiative. This is designed to help partner countries improve health outcomes, with a particular focus on improving the health of women, newborns and children. It builds improvements in health systems that can continue for generations.

A true transformation can occur only if we simultaneously deepen our understanding of TB as a disease. One excellent example of Sino-US joint efforts can be seen in Central China's Henan Province.

Thanks to strong support from the Henan provincial government and the Henan Provincial Bureau of Health, a TB research partnership with the US government's National Institutes of Health has made inroads against this disease and promises future benefits.

The first research study, at the Henan Provincial Chest Hospital, is off to a very smooth start and the study team plans to start the second study next year, using new drugs for the treatment of drug resistant TB. Construction of the Sino-US (Henan) Tuberculosis Prevention and Treatment Academy will soon begin, incorporating a Chinese design and US suggestions on biosafety.

The success of our joint TB research program would not be possible without the continued support and cooperation of both the US and China, with experts working together at both the national and provincial levels.

We need more of this type of progress. Despite such examples of cooperative problem- solving, TB remains a major global public health problem, with 9.4 million new cases and more than 1.7 million deaths in 2009. Every 20 seconds someone dies from TB.

The TB epidemic has also been exacerbated by its complex interaction with HIV/AIDS. TB is the leading cause of death among people with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Globally, an estimated 11-13 percent of TB sufferers are HIV-positive. This dual epidemic is particularly pervasive in Africa, where 80 percent of all HIV-TB co-infected people in the world are found.

Drug resistant TB compounds the problem and threatens to undermine years of progress in TB control efforts. In 2008, there were an estimated 440,000 cases of multi-drug resistant TB in 57 countries and regions.

Access to good quality services to diagnose and treat drug resistant TB continues to be inadequate, with only 5 percent of multi-drug resistant TB patients having access to treatment.

These disturbing numbers demand global attention and action.

I look forward to a future when US-China leadership in combating TB makes significant, transformative advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of TB worldwide. Such successes can only come through hard work by all involved, the very people we celebrate today.