A novel diagnostic test for tuberculosis has been endorsed by the World Health Organisation beholding to its “high diagnostic accuracy”. The WHO’s Global TB programme has included TrueNat TB test, a new molecular test that detects tuberculosis as well as resistance to the drug Rifampicin in about 90 minutes, in its rapid communication document on […]
Tuberculosis continues to be a major public burden for years in India. Though the cases have decreased, the overall eradication of the disease is still a dream. In 2016, a study published in the medical journal Lancet said that over a million TB cases might be missing from India’s official statistics. The study estimated that over a […]
India is one of the countries which has the highest incidence of TB in the world, leading to an over 60% reduction in usage of the medicine. Now, to curb the existing scenario, a new, simple and more affordable treatment for latent tuberculosis are on the way! A Mumbai-based pharma company Macleods pharma is all set to become […]
In a path-breaking development, researchers moved one step closer to developing a new game-changing vaccine for tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest infectious disease that claimed some 1.5 million lives last year. The scientists have published the final results from a phase 2b trial which showed nearly 50% protection against progression to active TB in The New England […]
The Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) has launched a vaccine trial to prevent TB for the first time since the BCG vaccine trial. The clinical trial aims at preventing and decreasing the burden of TB in the country. Every year, nearly three lakh people are reported to contract TB. The trial will enrol more than […]
Indian scientists identify three sites in the genome of the tuberculosis-causing bacterium that could be used as targets to kill it. The study was conducted by the researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Indore, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and University of Bordeaux, […]
It’s estimated that India has more than 8,50,000 private pharmacies/chemists. However, just 9% of them have been engaged in efforts for controlling tuberculosis, according to a Jan 2017 paper in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Practice and Policy. The paper reviewed public-private mix interventions to fight TB and also analysed global level documents from the WHO […]
The most recent round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP) was held in Japan in early March. One of the key aspects of this year’s RCEP was the insistence by developed nations to add provisions which will impact negatively the production of cheaper medicines. If these provisions are added, it could badly affect India’s Revised […]
The central government is considering a plan that would incentivize patients and private doctors who treat tuberculosis patients. Financial aids and free medicines for the patients who visit these doctors are also being considered. The plan comes as part of the government’s “aggressive” strategy to eradicate TB. The draft National Strategic Plan(NSP) for TB Elimination(2017-2025) […]
One of the challenges in alleviating TB is the hardship associated with continually monitoring the health of the patients. This is especially true in the case of those patients who approach the state-sponsored hospitals which are under-equipped in many ways. But there’s good news from one part of India. For in Jaipur, the health department […]