Drug-resistant TB ‘threatens global public health’

Dangerous new strains of tuberculosis (TB) are spreading quickly around the world and require immediate action, medical experts from the University of Cape Town have warned.

Stephen Lawn and Robert Wilkinson argue in today’s edition of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) periodical that weak TB control practices including low drug quality, erratic drug supply or adherence and poor prescribing practices are all heightening the threat these new strains pose.

Their editorial highlights the case of a rural hospital in South Africa where 41 per cent of TB cases were identified as being multi-drug resistant, of which 24 per cent were extensively drug-resistant.

Referring to other medical studies which have identified extremely drug-resistant TB in Europe, Asia and North America, the article’s authors warn that the spread of this form of TB is a matter of concern for public health because it is “almost untreatable”.

“Detection rates for cases of tuberculosis need to be improved, highlighting the need for a new diagnostic test,” Dr Lawn writes.

Also calling for the wider introduction of technologies which can identify the presence of drug-resistant TB, he concludes: “Nosocomial transmission of tuberculosis is probably commonplace in the developing world, and simple, effective strategies to reduce such transmission need to be urgently implemented.

“More fundamentally, the emergence of extensively drug resistant tuberculosis is a reminder that tuberculosis needs massive broader commitment.”

Such commitment, he argues, includes both “political will and financial action”.