Drug-Resistant TB Threatens Global Control Efforts, Researchers Warn In Lancet Report

The Guardian: Decades of TB progress threatened by drug-resistant bacteria, warn experts
“The rise of multi-drug resistant bacteria threatens to overturn decades of progress on tuberculosis (TB), experts are warning. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of TB are causing increasing concern, says a new report in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. Migration and travel mean that drug-resistant cases of tuberculosis that are difficult to treat have appeared in almost every part of the world…” (Boseley, 3/23).

Reuters: Rise of superbug tuberculosis hampers global control efforts
“…While some new antibiotics with the potential to treat some drug-resistant strains are becoming available for the first time, experts who conducted a global study said that without accurate diagnostics, better case tracking, and clear treatment guidelines, their effectiveness could rapidly be lost. ‘Resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs is a global problem that threatens to derail efforts to eradicate the disease,’ said Keertan Dheda, a University of Cape Town professor who co-led research published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal…” (Kelland, 3/22).

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