HO CHI MINH CITY, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Vietnam will aim to halve the number of tuberculosis (TB) patients by 2015, towards achieving a goal of eliminating the disease in 2030.

Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis lend further weight to the role of inappropriate treatment in the rise of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

With 102,000 new cases every year, Uganda is ranked sixteenth out of the 22 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB).

Dr. Mean Chhi Vun, director of Cambodia’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS), offered an exciting progress report to the TB/HIV Working Group of the Stop TB Partnership at their meeting last week in Beijing, including representatives from tuberculosis (TB) and HIV programs in China and elsewhere in the Pacific region.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced that it is providing more than $4 million in additional funding to the Infectious Disease Research Institute. The funding will allow IDRI to continue its early phase drug discovery efforts focused on identifying new and better therapies in the fight against tuberculosis, including multidrug-resistant strains known as MDR-TB. In addition, Lilly will provide more than $1 million in-kind for volunteer time from Lilly scientists and access to the company's drug discovery expertise, chemical libraries, and research tools.  

South African health experts are calling on governments to use legally available mechanisms to promote the production or import of generic drugs in their countries.

Russia may soon close its borders to immigrants from the Central Asian state of Tajikistan, according to Russia’s chief medical officer.

MANILA, Philippines — The machine didn’t look like much. It was a little bigger than a breadbox and had a bunch of clear vials on top.

MANILA, Philippines – The images of tuberculosis patients from the developing world are often painful to look at: the outlines of rib cages taut against skin; arms and legs no thicker than wiffleball bats; a wild-eyed look of fear from sunken eyes.

Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) and the TB Alliance joined with pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Bayer, Sanofi and Tibotec in an innovative agreement to share information about tuberculosis (TB) compounds in their drug pipelines and speed the development of new regimens, including the most promising multi-drug treatments, regardless of sponsor. The partnership was formed under the Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens (CPTR) initiative, which was co-founded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Critical Path Institute and the TB Alliance.