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
paediatric TB
Nipah virus outbreak exposes the chinks in Kerala’s health-care armour
If Kerala was taken by surprise last year by the first outbreak of Nipah virus infection, its recurrence this year strongly suggests that the virus is in circulation in fruit bats. After all, a study published on May 25 this year demonstrated that fruit bat was the source of the virus. In the absence of … Continue reading Nipah virus outbreak exposes the chinks in Kerala’s health-care armour
A glimmer of hope as India’s war on TB gets more funding
There is a glimmer of hope with India registering a slight drop in the number of new tuberculosis cases and TB deaths in 2016 compared with 2015. From an estimated 2.84 million new cases in 2015, the number dropped marginally to 2.79 million in 2016, according to the World Health Organisation’s Global tuberculosis report, 2017. … Continue reading A glimmer of hope as India’s war on TB gets more funding
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
‘Child-friendly paediatric TB drugs will be a game changer’
Treating young children afflicted with drug-sensitive TB disease will no longer be the same. After years of neglect, the availability of flavoured, easily dissolvable first-line TB drugs in correct doses marks a watershed moment as the special needs of these children will be met. The tablets, which are a combination of two and more medicines … Continue reading ‘Child-friendly paediatric TB drugs will be a game changer’
Child-friendly TB drugs launched
For the first time, child-friendly TB drugs for first-line medication in a fixed-dose combination was launched by TB Alliance, UNITAID and WHO at the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday. These drugs, which meet the WHO’s revised dosage guidelines of 2010, are meant for children weighing less … Continue reading Child-friendly TB drugs launched
MDR-TB spreads less within households
Unlike people with drug-susceptible TB, those with multi drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) are less likely to transmit disease to others living in the same household (also known as household contacts), a study published on June 23 in the journal PLOS Medicine found. Although it may not be right to extrapolate the findings to the community level, … Continue reading MDR-TB spreads less within households
Childhood TB: symptom-based contact screening safe, reliable
From total neglect till a few years ago, childhood TB is now taking centrestage. A couple of days back, the WHO released an updated guidance for national TB programmes (NTPs) on the management of tuberculosis in children. The updated guidance takes into account many important developments and published evidence on childhood TB since the … Continue reading Childhood TB: symptom-based contact screening safe, reliable
Training doctors to diagnose paediatric TB to start soon
In a few months from now, children in India with paediatric TB will stand a better chance of being diagnosed early and treated without much delay. This will become possible with the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) partnering with the Child TB Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and RNTCP to train … Continue reading Training doctors to diagnose paediatric TB to start soon
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