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New WHO report estimates 440,000 MDR-TB cases worldwide in 2008

There were an estimated 440,000 cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) around the world in 2008 - one-third of which were fatal, according to a new WHO report on drug-resistant TB, the Los Angeles Times reports (Maugh, 3/19).

20 Mar 2010

WHO estimates 440 000 MDR-TB cases in 2008

In some areas of the world, one in four people with tuberculosis (TB) becomes ill with a form of the disease that can no longer be treated with standard drugs regimens, a World Health Organization (WHO) report says.

19 Mar 2010

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient in China and is described in a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Chongqing Pulmonary Hospital, Lanzhou University and Fudan University.

22 Dec 2009

Researchers validate a technique capable of quick TB diagnosis

The team headed by Doctor Manuel Casal, head of Microbiology at Reina Sofia Hospital in Cordoba has validated in patients a technique, originally produced by a German company, capable of diagnosing tuberculosis in only one day and determining whether or not it is resistant to two of the drugs used to treat this disease.

7 Oct 2009

Safety profiles of JANUVIA and JANUMET drugs established through clinical development program

Merck has thoroughly reviewed the safety data for sitagliptin, and sitagliptin was not associated with an increase in the incidence of pancreatitis in preclinical studies or in clinical trials of up to two years in duration with more than 6,000 patients.

28 Sep 2009

European CHMP recommends Merck's JANUVIA and JANUMET as add-on to insulin

Merck & Co., Inc., which operates in many countries as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for JANUVIA® tablets and JANUMET® tablets recommending their use as add-on to insulin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

26 Sep 2009

Lancet Infectious Diseases examines spread of XDR-TB

The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines the worldwide spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). Currently, about 500,000 of the 9 million new cases of TB that are identified each year are strains of XDR-TB. "Drug resistance is largely man-made - it is vitally important to review antibiotic treatment strategies and to ensure the Stop TB Strategy is fully applied to prevent further selection of drug-resistant mutants," Leonard Amaral of Universidade Nova de Lisboa said.

24 Jun 2009

Slow-growing tuberculosis bacteria point the way to new drug development

The discovery of a large number of slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause tuberculosis (TB), in the lungs of TB patients could be an important step forward in the design of new anti-TB drugs.

30 Mar 2009

Canadian researchers to launch clinical trial to determine efficacy of treating latent TB with four-month course of Rifampin

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal on Tuesday announced they will soon launch an international clinical trial to determine if latent tuberculosis can be treated successfully with a four-month treatment course of the TB drug rifampin rather than the standard nine-month treatment with the TB drug isoniazid, the CP/Toronto Sun reports.

24 Mar 2009

Doctors call for change in how non-active tuberculosis in immigrant children treated

New guidelines proposed in the March 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics by researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children may have a major impact on how pediatricians and family physicians treat non-active tuberculosis (TB) in children who are immigrants, internationally adopted or refugees.

2 Mar 2009

Drug combo shows potential for treating extensively drug resistant tuberculosis

A combination of two FDA-approved drugs, already approved for fighting other bacterial infections, shows potential for treating extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), the most deadly form of the infection.

26 Feb 2009

New treatment for latent form of tuberculosis

Patients who are infected with the latent form of tuberculosis (TB) show no symptoms and are not contagious, yet they pose the biggest challenge when it comes to controlling the disease.

23 Jan 2009

XDR-TB declining in the U.S.

A new report suggests that the number of cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in the U.S. has declined in the past fifteen years, but new cases continue to be reported, according to the study published in the November 12 issue of JAMA.

11 Nov 2008

18 cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis found in California

In the first statewide study of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) in the United States, California officials have identified 18 cases of the dangerous and difficult-to-treat disease between 1993 and 2006, and 77 cases that were one step away from XDR TB. The study appears in the August 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

13 Aug 2008

About 1% of HIV-positive people worldwide have been tested for tuberculosis

Only 1% of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide have been screened for tuberculosis, according to a report recently released by the coalition Advocacy To Control TB Internationally, or ACTION, Reuters reports.

13 Aug 2008

Targeted action on HIV and tuberculosis needed to reach drug users

Health and criminal justice authorities need to provide targeted services to drug users, especially those who inject drugs, to prevent and treat tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. TB is a major cause of death for people living with HIV, but drug users who are HIV-positive face stigma, discrimination and barriers to accessing life-saving treatments.

4 Aug 2008

Researchers urge integrating TB into HIV care

In resource-limited settings where tuberculosis is a major cause of mortality among HIV patients and where a multidrug-resistant TB epidemic is emerging, researchers are pressing for approaches to integrate TB prevention and treatment into HIV care and treatment.

22 Jul 2008

New test quickly detects multi drug-resistant tuberculosis

Researchers have developed a new test which can quickly detect multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

1 Jul 2008

New rapid tests for drug-resistant TB for developing countries

People in low-resource countries who are ill with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) will get a faster diagnosis -- in two days, not the standard two to three months -- and appropriate treatment thanks to two new initiatives unveiled today by WHO, the Stop TB Partnership, UNITAID and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND).

30 Jun 2008

World leaders call for action to reduce TB deaths among HIV-positive people

For the first time ever, heads of governments, public health and business leaders, heads of UN agencies and activists came together at UN Headquarters today to confront a threat to global health that could undermine investments in life-saving drug treatment for people living with HIV.

10 Jun 2008