What is multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and when did it first arise?

Low serum albumin independently predicted death, pulmonary tuberculosis, severe anemia, and weight loss in a 21-month study of 2145 Tanzanian adults starting antiretroviral therapy (ART).

WHO has revised its standard case definitions for TB and drug-resistant TB.

Boulder, CO, April 22, 2013 – MBio Diagnostics, Inc. announced that it has been collaborating with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) on a tuberculosis (TB) serology feasibility project. The project seeks to determine if a set of M. tuberculosis (Mtb) antigens could be useful for serodiagnosis of active TB disease in a point-of-care (POC) assay format. FIND is using MBio’s unique multiplexed immunoassay platform to deliver antibody reactivity results for a panel of 57 Mtb proteins using a single 10-microliter whole blood sample from individuals with suspected TB infection. Phase I of the clinical evaluation, conducted in Vietnam and Peru, concluded in February 2013. Phase II, which represents a larger clinical study, began in March 2013.

A national Strategic Plan for HIV, tuberculous (TB) and sexually transmitted infections has been adopted on Friday (April 19), during South African National Aids Council (Sanac) meeting in Secunda, Mpumalanga, which was chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

South Africa plans to overhaul its intellectual property laws to improve access to cheaper medicines by making it harder for pharmaceutical firms to register and roll-over patents for drugs, a senior official said on Monday.

Open letters to Indian Prime Minister and Health Minister to support India’s refusal of any Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)-Plus Provisions in Free-Trade Agreement negotiations with the European Union.

Efforts to promote a tuberculosis test, recommended in the US, as a diagnostic test by laboratories in India is facing stiff resistance by medical experts who are questioning its efficacy.

NAIROBI, 18 April 2013 (IRIN) - The use of technology is revolutionizing the way Kenya manages tuberculosis (TB). Through a computer- and mobile-phone based programme called TIBU, health facilities are able to request TB drugs in real-time and manage TB patient data more effectively, health officials say. They also use the platform to carry out health education.

Heavily burdened by rising multi-drug-resistant Tuberculosis, China now has nearly 120,000 new cases on the mainland each year, according to public health experts.