PEPFAR to buy additional 150 rapid TB testing devices

PEPFAR will purchase up to 150 rapid tuberculosis (TB) Xpert testing devices and cartridges to test about 450,000 people for TB, "addressing a need to improve diagnoses of drug-resistant strains of disease, and to identify the disease in HIV-positive people in sub-Saharan Africa and Myanmar, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator announced" Tuesday, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports. "The investment is part of an ongoing effort," according to the blog, which notes, "The announcement of the program's added investment in the Cepheid Xpert tests, following the pre-World AIDS Day release last week of PEPFAR's blueprint for creating an AIDS-free generation backs the plan's stated purpose of applying evidence-based approaches and scientific advances to confront the global HIV epidemic" (Barton, 12/4).