New TB test to detect more people who need DR-TB treatment
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A promising new diagnostic test will finally help detect more people with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), increasing the urgency to solve major problems around the pricing and supply of DR-TB medicines, according to a new report by the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). DR-TB is on the rise, but less than 7% of 440,000 new cases each year receive treatment, and DR-TB kills 150,000 people annually .
![[© Jose Cendon]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110324/000cf1bdd03f0ef53d4a09.jpg "[© Jose Cendon]") |
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[© Jose Cendon] |
The treatment of DR-TB relies on old antibiotics, many of which have severe side effects, ranging from constant nausea to deafness, and must be taken as complex regimens – patients must take up to 17 pills every day for up to two years. However, these are the only drugs that exist today that can tackle DR-TB. MSF's report shows that these drugs are riddled with persistent supply and price problems that must be urgently addressed.
"Patients have been stuck in a vicious circle – not enough people are diagnosed, and drug supply problems along with high prices stand in the way of putting more people on treatment," said Dr. Tido von Schoen-Angerer, Executive Director of MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. "The low demand for DR-TB drugs has made the market unattractive for producers, which is reinforcing supply and price problems."
MSF's report examined medicines used to treat DR-TB according to the number of suppliers, quality assurance and price, based on information obtained from the Global Drug Facility and drug manufacturers. It found that four of the recommended medicines are available from only one quality-assured source. Relying on a sole supplier whose production could be disrupted or stopped at any time always carries a risk of dangerous treatment interruption for patients. For example, supplies of the injectable drug kanamycin were disrupted during 2010, leading to a temporary global stockout.
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