-- Nigeria is one of eight countries that accounts for two-thirds of new TB cases
-- A new six-month treatment for TB is being considered for rollout nationwide
-- The WHO-recommended regimen could help combat drug resistance

ISLAMABAD, Jun 09: Pakistan’s tuberculosis incidence is 259 per 100,000 population and an HIV prevalence rate is 0.12 per 1,000 population in 2020.

New report sets out six case studies of drug makers that are increasing local access to antibiotics and antifungals, including through technology transfers and partnerships. People in low- and middle-income countries cannot get the antibiotics and antifungal medicines they need. This is fuelling the spread of drug resistance.

Under a new TB diagnosis strategy, people considered to be at high risk of TB are offered molecular TB tests, even if they do not have any symptoms. A landmark study in 2020 showed that such a strategy can help diagnose more people more quickly. Now, early indications are that it also works in the real world and South Africa’s lab service says they can cope with the increased demand.

Public Health Action is the peer-reviewed open access journal of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. It communicates and reports new knowledge across all relevant areas of operational research including: infection control, nutrition, TB, HIV, vaccines, smoking, COVID-19, microbial resistance and disease outbreaks.

On 9 June 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) will convene a civil society Town Hall on ending TB in close collaboration with the WHO Civil Society Task Force on TB. The Town Hall will be led by WHO Director-General, senior WHO leadership and members of the Task Force.

TB Alliance will convene a special Stakeholders Association meeting as a virtual event on 23 June 2022.

The World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a process of updating the Target Regimen Profiles for TB treatment, initially published in 2016.

Nigeria recorded a 50 per cent increase in annual tuberculosis case notification in 2021, with numbers increasing from 138,591 cases in 2020 to 207,785.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most deadly infectious diseases. Around 9.9 million people around the world fell ill with the disease in 2020 and an estimated 1.5 million people died.