New WHO Guidelines Recommend Shorter Treatment Regimen For Drug-Resistant TB

BBC News: Shorter treatment ‘will help tackle’ drug-resistant TB
“New international guidelines aim to halve the cost and time for treating multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) should reduce treatment to around nine months…” (Dreaper, 5/12).

The Guardian: WHO recommends shorter drug regimen for multi-drug resistant TB
“…The existing course of combined heavy-duty antibiotics used against MDR-TB lasts up to two years and there are toxic side effects to some of the drugs, causing deafness and other problems. About half of those put on the treatment give up, raising the risk that their disease will return and spread to other people…” (Boseley, 5/12).

Wall Street Journal: World Health Organization Recommends New Treatment for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
“…The shorter regimen also costs far less: under $1,000 per patient in developing countries, compared with up to $3,000 for the current treatment, the WHO said…” (McKay, 5/12).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.