In-depth: TB - the year that was
Photo: Gary Hampton/World Lung Foundation
MDR-TB is resistant to first-line TB drugs
Gains have been made in stopping multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a largely undiagnosed killer, but not enough. By 2015 there will be two million new cases, says a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
MDR-TB is resistant to first-line TB drugs, such as isoniazid and rifampicin, while extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is resistant to these drugs as well as at least half of the mostly commonly used second-line drugs.
full report
JOHANNESBURG, 28 March 2011 (PlusNews) - In keeping with the focus on innovation as part of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day in March 2011, IRIN/PlusNews brings you a wrap of some of recent developments in TB technology.
full report
KHAYELITSHA, 24 March 2011 (PlusNews) - A promising new diagnostic test for detecting drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) quickly and reliably is finally available, said a new report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
full report
NAIROBI, 24 March 2011 (PlusNews) - Over the past few years the Kenyan government has significantly scaled up its diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis with positive results, but officials say diagnosis of children lags behind.
full report
ADDIS ABABA, 23 March 2011 (PlusNews) - Health officials in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, are concerned about the spread of tuberculosis in the city's crowded public transport networks and tightly packed "DSTV [satellite television] houses" where ardent fans come to watch English and Spanish football.
full report
LUSAKA, 26 January 2011 (PlusNews) - New technologies are helping Zambia make the most of its scarce health workers and laboratories in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), and showing that there may be more to a container than meets the eye.
full report
NAIROBI, 9 December 2010 (PlusNews) - The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed a new rapid test for tuberculosis that could save millions of lives through early diagnosis of the disease. TB killed an estimated 1.7 million people globally in 2009.
full report
JOHANNESBURG, 11 November 2010 (PlusNews) - Preventative tuberculosis (TB) therapy can reduce death among patients on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment by about half, according to new research from South Africa.
full report
JOHANNESBURG, 14 October 2010 (PlusNews) - A new roadmap for curbing the global epidemic of tuberculosis aims to save five million lives between 2011 and 2015 and eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2050 but comes with a price tag of US$47 billion, nearly half of which must still be found.
full report
NAIROBI, 16 September 2010 (PlusNews) - A new one-hour test for tuberculosis will only have an impact in the global fight against the disease if it is made affordable to poor countries, experts say.
full report
JOHANNESBURG, 3 September 2010 (PlusNews) - A new, accurate, easy-to-use test can diagnose tuberculosis (TB) - including drug-resistant strains of the disease - in less than two hours. It has the potential to save thousands of lives in developing countries, where current tests are often unreliable, take weeks to process, or are simply unavailable.
full report
DURBAN, 3 September 2010 (PlusNews) - Striking public health workers in South Africa have virtually shut down King George V Hospital, a referral facility in the port city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, which specializes in caring for and isolating patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XDR)-TB.
full report
Theme (s): HIV/AIDS (PlusNews),
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]