Research of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Planned
According to the NIAID, forms of tuberculosis that are resistant to current drugs are growing at alarming rates. World Health Organization records indicate that about half-a-million people around the globe have MDR TB (multidrug), a resistant form of tuberculosis, while a fatal form of tuberculosis, XDR TB (extensively drug-resistant), is now in people in 46 different countries.
The NIAID's plans to research and fight these two drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis are now available online in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. It is written by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the NIAID and members of the group, NIAID Tuberculosis Working Group.
The NIAID claims these rising forms of tuberculosis are infecting more people mainly because there isn't common testing of tuberculosis patients to learn whether drugs are working and because of a lack of thorough treatment of those who are infected with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Other reasons drug-resistant tuberculosis is on the rise is attributed to the larger number of HIV-infected people who then contract tuberculosis and the lack of widespread research of tuberculosis by drug companies which means fewer drugs being created.
Dr. Fauci says the tools used to diagnose tuberculosis are slow and out-of-date. He says drugs to fight tuberculosis are lengthy regimens and the tuberculosis vaccine doesn't provide thorough protection to adults susceptible to adult pulmonary tuberculosis.
In response, the NIAID's plans to research and fight MDR and XDR TB include developing and testing reliable technologies so the diagnosis of tuberculosis can be done more quickly, determining the best ways to use existing therapies of tuberculosis to treat these new, rising forms of the condition, examining more closely the biology of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis to have a better understanding of the causes of the condition, determining the epidemiology of the drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis and researching different ways tuberculosis can attack different types of people.
Dr. Fauci says the NIAID can't fight these drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis alone and requires the help of researchers worldwide in order to provide tuberculosis patients with the best-possible care.
The NIAID plans to coordinate tuberculosis-fighting efforts of the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other National Institute of Health institutes and centers to help prevent and control the spreading of MDR and XDR tuberculosis.
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