Thanks to the Zero TB Cities project, if everything works to plan, Chennai may drastically reduce TB mortality, shrink the number of new cases annually and impact TB prevalence in the city in a matter of 3-5 years. Chennai has been chosen as one of two cities in the world where the Zero TB Cities … Continue reading Chennai city’s new strategy to eliminate TB
Sputum samples
TB: India study confirms Xpert diagnostic test’s superiority
For the first time in India, the superiority of Xpert MTB/RIF over smear microscopy for bacteriological confirmation of pulmonary TB and in diagnosing MDR-TB (Multi Drug Resistant-TB) patients before initiating any treatment has been proved in a large-scale study undertaken in 2012-2013. Encouraging results The latest study, the largest in the world, found that using … Continue reading TB: India study confirms Xpert diagnostic test’s superiority
TB in children
Childhood TB has been neglected for decades, but in the past few years the WHO has begun to realise its real impact in terms of incidence, prevalence and mortality. By R. PRASAD THE number of annual new tuberculosis (TB) cases in India has been nearly 2.2 million for the past couple of years. Many … Continue reading TB in children
Sentinel Project gives a fillip to managing MDR-TB in children
The Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis is a collective power of a global partnership by experts and others who share the same vision of ensuring that no child dies of drug-resistant TB that is curable. “We are collaborating to raise the visibility of this vulnerable population of children, and to share evidence and … Continue reading Sentinel Project gives a fillip to managing MDR-TB in children
‘In 80-90 %, TB bacilli in children same as in MDR-TB index case’
Prof. H. Simon Schaaf, a clinical researcher from the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Stellenbosch University, South Africa has worked extensively on childhood TB and multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) in children. Last year he was awarded an A-rating from the National Research Foundation, South Africa. … Continue reading ‘In 80-90 %, TB bacilli in children same as in MDR-TB index case’
‘Age has a significant effect on the immune system in childhood TB’
Prof Peter R. Donald, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University, South Africa was awarded the highest honour, the Union Medal, of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, at the 2010 General Assembly in Berlin. This medal is given to people … Continue reading ‘Age has a significant effect on the immune system in childhood TB’
TB: ‘There is a clearly higher risk of mortality in children of 0-4 years’
With 8.6 million people across the world developing tuberculosis in 2012 and nearly 1.3 million succumbing to the disease, and with the number of people with multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extremely-drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) increasing every year, the focus has been on increasing case-detection and improving treatment rates. In the process, no significant measures … Continue reading TB: ‘There is a clearly higher risk of mortality in children of 0-4 years’
Paediatric TB: should Xpert molecular test replace smear microscopy?
Unlike adults, children under five years of age are particularly vulnerable to getting infected with TB and may develop the disease very soon after infection. This is all the more true in the case of those from households where an adult has been recently diagnosed with sputum smear positive active pulmonary TB. India’s Revised National … Continue reading Paediatric TB: should Xpert molecular test replace smear microscopy?
Contact screening: the risk of wrong TB diagnosis
Of the nine million cases of tuberculosis (TB) across the world annually, children below 15 years of age account for about one million. As per India’s Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), paediatric cases account for about 12 per cent of the total TB caseload in the country. According to a March 2013 paper … Continue reading Contact screening: the risk of wrong TB diagnosis
TB: how many young children are wrongly diagnosed as disease-free?
India’s Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) estimates that children comprise about 12 per cent of the total TB caseload in the country. But in all probability, 12 per cent may be an underestimation of the actual contribution. A July 2011 study undertaken in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on 116 children below six years … Continue reading TB: how many young children are wrongly diagnosed as disease-free?
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