While India accounts for 26% of TB cases in the world, the TB notifications during the period January-June 2020 in India reduced by 25% compared to the same period in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic combined with impacts on care-seeking behaviour threatens to reverse recent progress in reducing the global burden of TB disease, the World … Continue reading Pandemic causes 25% dip in TB notifications in India
Tuberculosis
Meta-analysis does not support continued use of point-of-care serological tests for COVID-19
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 40 studies of antibody testing for novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has found “major weaknesses” in the evidence base for serological tests. The evidence does not support the continued use of existing point-of-care serological tests for COVID-19. Serological tests to detect antibodies against novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) could improve diagnosis of COVID-19 … Continue reading Meta-analysis does not support continued use of point-of-care serological tests for COVID-19
Israel: No association found between BCG vaccination and coronavirus infection
Studying adults aged 35 and 41 years who have received BCG vaccine and those who have not received it during childhood, Tel Aviv University researchers found no association between BCG vaccination and coronavirus infection in Israel. A study has found that BCG vaccination during childhood does not have a protective effect against novel coronavirus infection … Continue reading Israel: No association found between BCG vaccination and coronavirus infection
Wait for trial results before using BCG vaccine for COVID-19, Tedros writes
Tedros and others caution that using BCG vaccine on health-care workers for COVID-19 should be only after safety and efficacy are tested through randomised controlled trials. BCG vaccine, which ramps up the immune system, can exacerbate COVID-19 in a small population of patients with severe disease, they warn. In a letter published in The Lancet … Continue reading Wait for trial results before using BCG vaccine for COVID-19, Tedros writes
Coronavirus spares no major organ
Lungs are just the ground zero for the virus while the novel coronavirus spreads its lethal tentacles to multiple organs — heart and blood vessels, kidneys, gut, and brain — not necessarily in one patient. As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 crosses 2.7 million and deaths is fast approaching 192,000, physicians are beginning … Continue reading Coronavirus spares no major organ
Coronavirus: Correlation does not mean causation, doctors say about BCG vaccine study
Protection conferred by BCG vaccine against novel coronavirus is an interesting study and a plausible hypothesis but has been done early in the course of an epidemic and when the settings are not the same in all countries. We need more data from trials to be able to say anything with confidence. A study posted … Continue reading Coronavirus: Correlation does not mean causation, doctors say about BCG vaccine study
Trial shows success in treating drug-resistant TB
A 26-week treatment of 109 XDR-TB and MDR-TB patients with three oral drugs — bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid — showed 90% success rate. There were seven deaths and two had a relapse during the six-month follow-up period. A small trial (Nix-TB) undertaken at three sites in South Africa to test the safety and efficacy of … Continue reading Trial shows success in treating drug-resistant TB
TB diagnostic test developed in India has high diagnostic accuracy, says WHO
Truenat, a molecular test to diagnose pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB and rifampicin-resistant TB, has high diagnostic accuracy, says WHO. Truenat was developed in India. It can be used as an initial and point-of-care tool for diagnosing TB at primary, community health centres. In a Rapid Communication published on January 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) … Continue reading TB diagnostic test developed in India has high diagnostic accuracy, says WHO
TB: Delivering BCG vaccine intravenously vastly improves efficacy
Changing the route of BCG vaccine administration from intradermal to intravenous and using a higher dosage showed vast improvement in vaccine efficacy. Nine of the 10 animals that received the vaccine intravenously were highly protected when exposed to TB bacteria six months after vaccination. The tuberculosis vaccine, known as BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) is a is … Continue reading TB: Delivering BCG vaccine intravenously vastly improves efficacy
Combination therapy using malaria drug quickly clears TB
IISc researchers have discovered the mechanism by which TB bacteria develop tolerance to TB drugs. They found a combination of malaria and TB drug can prevent the bacteria from developing drug tolerance. The drug combination cleared TB bacteria from mice lungs in eight weeks. Researchers from Bengaluru have made an important discovery of the mechanism … Continue reading Combination therapy using malaria drug quickly clears TB
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