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Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/tb-resistance-1.4037555
Superbug tuberculosis threatens global control efforts
About 1 in 5 cases of TB are now resistant to at least one major anti-TB drug
Thomson Reuters Posted: Mar 23, 2017 10:10 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 23, 2017 10:10 AM ET
Rising rates of superbug tuberculosis (TB) are threatening to derail decades of progress against the contagious disease, experts said on Thursday, and new drugs powerful enough to treat them are few and far between.
TB kills more people each year than any other infectious disease, including HIV and AIDS. In 2015 alone, it is estimated to have killed 1.8 million people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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...
Superbug tuberculosis threatens global control efforts
About 1 in 5 cases of TB are now resistant to at least one major anti-TB drug
Thomson Reuters Posted: Mar 23, 2017 10:10 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 23, 2017 10:10 AM ET
Rising rates of superbug tuberculosis (TB) are threatening to derail decades of progress against the contagious disease, experts said on Thursday, and new drugs powerful enough to treat them are few and far between.
TB kills more people each year than any other infectious disease, including HIV and AIDS. In 2015 alone, it is estimated to have killed 1.8 million people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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...