A team led by Jaya Sivaswami Tyagi from AIIMS in collaboration with THSTI has developed a diagnostic test for TB meningitis with nearly 100% sensitivity and about 91% specificity. The rapid, point-of-care diagnostic test for TB meningitis, which uses the DNA aptamer, has already been adapted to a sensor format and is being evaluated on clinical samples. … Continue reading AIIMS-led team develops highly sensitive, portable test for TB meningitis
Gene Xpert
ICMR wins the 2017 Kochon Prize for TB research
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has won the Stop TB Kochon Prize for excellence in TB research and development. The $65,000 Prize is awarded annually by Stop TB Partnership to individuals and/or organizations that have made a significant contribution to combating TB. The ICMR emerged the winner from amongst 18 nominations. The 2017 Kochon Prize was awarded … Continue reading ICMR wins the 2017 Kochon Prize for TB research
A looming threat of tuberculosis in children
The RNTCP guidelines on contact screening are heeded mostly in the breach. About 5,500 of over 76,000 children tested in nine Indian cities have been diagnosed with tuberculosis, 9% of them with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), highlighting the silent spread of the disease. Though the actual prevalence of MDR-TB among children in India is not known, … Continue reading A looming threat of tuberculosis in children
India wants to eliminate TB by 2025 but falters on several critical fronts
In 2015, India accounted for nearly 2.8 million (27%) of the 10.4 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, and 0.48 million (29%) of the 1.8 million TB deaths globally. Yet, India brings up the rear on most critical fronts to fight the disease. This has been clearly highlighted by the ‘Out of Step’ … Continue reading India wants to eliminate TB by 2025 but falters on several critical fronts
Cheaper TB diagnostic test developed in India enters final validation stage
A cheaper, locally developed molecular diagnostic test, Truenat MTB, for drug-sensitive and rifampicin-resistant TB is entering the final leg of performance validation and operational feasibility testing by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Truenat is developed by the Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics. The company was provided with technical assistance and resources by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics … Continue reading Cheaper TB diagnostic test developed in India enters final validation stage
Without a magic wand, India cannot eliminate TB by 2025
At the end of 50 years of tuberculosis control activities, the disease remains a major health challenge in India. As per new estimates, the number of new cases every year has risen to 2.8 million and mortality is put at 4,80,000 each year. These figures may go up when the national TB prevalence survey is … Continue reading Without a magic wand, India cannot eliminate TB by 2025
Time India got serious about fighting TB
Pushed to a corner owing to lack of political will on the part of countries with a high burden of tuberculosis, the World Health Organisation has called for the first United Nations General Assembly session on the disease. The fight against TB cannot be won as long as the high-burden countries, particularly India which has … Continue reading Time India got serious about fighting TB
About 0.5 million TB patients approaching RNTCP centres are not treated
In 2013, India had about 2.7 million people with TB, which is 23 per cent of the global burden of TB. India also accounted for 27 per cent (760,000) of the world’s “missing” patients — those may not have received effective TB care or may have received potentially suboptimal TB care in India’s private sector. … Continue reading About 0.5 million TB patients approaching RNTCP centres are not treated
Trials with antibiotics lead to TB diagnosis delay
Tuberculosis patients in India who seek care in the private sector face a delay of as long as two months before they are diagnosed correctly — if at all — according to systematic reviews of Indian studies. This becomes alarming as private sector accounts for almost half of the TB care delivered in India. A … Continue reading Trials with antibiotics lead to TB diagnosis delay
India sets an example in subsidised TB diagnosis
There is a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy TB scenario in India. Of the 12 high-burden countries where the private sector is a major player in providing health care, the Indian private sector offers the cheapest price for the WHO-approved Xpert MTB/RIF, a molecular test for diagnosing TB. India also has the highest number … Continue reading India sets an example in subsidised TB diagnosis
Science Chronicle 