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Manipal University organizes symposium on drug-resistant TB

Published On : 25 Dec 2016


Manipal: GeneXpert is the biggest new advance in TB detection. It is a highly accurate, molecular test that has been endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). This technology is completely automated and can rapidly detect TB as well as drug-resistant TB within two hours. This was one of the topics discussed at length at the symposium on drug-resistant tuberculosis held here on Wednesday.

Speakers at the symposium focused on the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant TB, as well as special topics such as nutrition and TB, and approaches to protecting healthcare workers from TB. Currently, therapies for drug-resistant TB have a poor evidence base, are lengthy, use drugs of uncertain efficacy and are characterized by high toxicity. WHO has recently endorsed the use of a shorter drug regimen for MDR-TB, and new drugs are now emerging.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB) refers to TB that is resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid, two of the most critical first-line antibiotics used to treat TB. MDR-TB is a big concern in some parts of India, Mumbai in particular. Drug-resistance usually happens when patients do not complete their full course of treatment; when doctors prescribe the wrong treatment, the wrong dose, or length of time for taking the drugs.

TB is the leading infectious cause of death globally. In 2015, WHO estimated that there were 10.4 million new TB cases world-wide. Six countries accounted for 60 per cent of the total burden, with India accounting for 27 per cent of the global cases. Over 2.8 million new TB cases occur every year and TB kills nearly 900 people every day in India. The emergence of severe forms of drug resistant TB has worsened the situation.


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