MSF Warns Global Shortage Of Drug-Resistant TB Treatment Likely

MSF Warns Global Shortage Of Drug-Resistant TB Treatment Likely

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

As countries increase the use of the GeneXpert test, a two-hour molecular TB test released in 2010, "enabl[ing] them to diagnose more patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), a worldwide shortage of the drugs to treat these patients is likely, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warns," according to PlusNews.

"South Africa, which has the world's fifth-largest burden of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB cases, will replace all microscope-based TB diagnoses with faster, more sensitive GeneXpert testing within two years," which "could double the number of MDR-TB cases diagnosed ? according to Norbert Ndjeka, director of DR-TB, TB and HIV at the South African National Department of Health," the news agency reports. "Treating MDR-TB patients takes up about half South Africa?s TB budget" already, and "MSF has estimated that without lower DR-TB costs, South Africa will be spending as much as $630 million on treatment by 2015," PlusNews writes (8/16).

The Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report is published by the Kaiser Family Foundation. 2011 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved. The report summarizes the latest, most relevant information on U.S. global health policy developments and related news from hundreds of sources. Access today's full report or sign up for an email subscription to the Daily Report.

Source: http://feeds.kff.org/~r/kff/kdghpr/~3/nRRCpY5Tgns/GH-081711-TB-Drug-Shortage-SA.aspx

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