The World Health Organization (WHO) has released their Global Tuberculosis Report 2014. While TB incidence and mortality rates from TB continue to fall, MSF notes alarming trends in the drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) epidemic and urges action to reverse course.
Key data of concern:
• Some countries report a significant increase in the spread of DR-TB person to person, with some now reporting up to 35% of new cases as multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB)
• Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is also on the rise within areas of the former Soviet Union, where it accounts for an estimated 20% of DR-TB cases
• Despite an increase in confirmed diagnoses of MDR-TB, only around one in five people with MDR-TB worldwide receive proper treatment; the number of people left untreated is increasing annually
Statement from Dr. Grania Brigden, TB Advisor for Médecins Sans Frontières’ Access Campaign:
“The alarming spread of drug-resistant TB from person to person in the former Soviet Union is of critical concern, along with the growth in MDR-TB and XDR-TB cases. Access to proper treatment is drastically low: only one person in five with multidrug-resistant TB receives treatment; the rest are left to die, increasing the risk to their families and communities and fuelling the epidemic.
This dismal news must serve as a wake-up call for governments, donors and drug companies to step-up and improve the DR-TB response today.
We need to see fundamental change, starting with ending retrograde practices that contribute to the spread of drug-resistant forms of TB; treatment regimens and practices must be brought in line with World Health Organization recommendations, and patients must have access to drug sensitivity testing for accurate and timely diagnosis. More than a year after the introduction of two new TB drugs, and with repurposed drugs showing promise in XDR-TB care, most patients remain far from getting improved treatment options. To reverse this epidemic’s course, a dramatic increase in collaboration and investment into the development of new and affordable diagnostics and treatment regimens will be essential.”
MSF response to new 2014 @WHO TB report: Some countries show alarming spread of DR-TB from person to person #MDRTB
Source: Médecins Sans Frontières