New treatment in offer for multidrug-resistant TB

To speed up detection and improve treatment of multidrug resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis (TB), a shortened drug regimen offer new hopes in turning the tide on drug resistant TB. With the novel regimen reporting high-cure rates, experts will call for a worldwide roll-out of the new regimen at the World Conference, slated to happen in Liverpool, United Kingdom this month.

The announcement on the new regimen will be made following a recent study that reported high cure rates. The final results of the landmark study that involved more than a thousand patients with MDR TB, and found new regimen working exceptionally well, will also be released at the 47th world conference in Liverpool this month.

While earlier the standard course for such patients was 24 months, the new drug regimen is shortened and completes in nine months. The three-year study involving patients living with MDR-TB was conducted in nine Francophone sub-Saharan African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda) and has reported “very high cure rates”. “This year’s Union World Conference on Lung Health comes at one of the most pivotal moments in the fight against TB and lung disease,” said José Luis Castro, executive director of The Union.

“The world is committed to eliminate TB by 2035, but we have a very small window to move toward that goal. This year’s conference will focus on confronting all forms of resistance that might stop us from ending TB for good.”

Dr Paula I. Fujiwara, scientific director of The Union said,“The final results from the study will mark a leap forward in our ability to treat MDR-TB. We will use the World Conference as a platform to call for a worldwide roll-out of the new regimen — even while we keep searching for shorter and easier treatment options.” TB is the world’s leading cause of death from an infectious illness (1.5 million deaths annually).

The spurt in drug resistance cases has only added to the ordeal.

Expected to draw some 4,000 participants from more than 100 countries, the Union World Conference will announce new scientific findings in the area of infectionous disease TB and lung health. Scientists, public health programme and agency leaders, policymakers, affected communities and activists will convene under the theme of Confronting Resistance: Fundamentals to Innovations. Ambassador Stephen Lewis, Executive Director of AIDS Free World and former United Nations Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, will open the conference with a keynote address.