Speed up testing for TB to save lives

LAST Friday, June 8, the Ministry of Health in China released a report stating that the nation is facing a "serious epidemic" of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Using World Health Organisation figures as a basis for comparison, the report found that China has the highest annual number of cases of MDR-TB in the world, with a prevalence of 5.7 per cent amongst TB patients. That’s nearly twice the global average.

Another shocking piece of new information was that one in 10 Chinese patients recently treated for TB, actually had a drug-resistant strain of the highly contagious lung disease. These people would have suffered the cost and side-effects of the TB drug treatment, without any real hope of recovery.

The reason for this gross diagnostic oversight is that the current technology being used for TB diagnosis is inadequate. ‘Smear microscopy’ fails to diagnose TB in 1.8 million people every year, especially cases among women, children, and people living with HIV. In a nutshell, we are failing to detect TB amongst those who are most vulnerable, at a global level.

But there is a solution.

In December 2010, the World Health Organisation endorsed a new tool to diagnose TB: Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert). Instead of using a microscope, this revolutionary tool uses DNA technology to rapidly identify TB bacteria in less than two hours.

By diagnosing patients correctly and in hours rather than in weeks, Xpert allows patients to immediately know their status (and form of TB contracted), helping them to receive treatment earlier, stop the spread of disease in their communities and lead healthier, more productive lives.

Xpert could be a game changer for TB control in China and globally. With the technology now available, it would be unethical to deny people access to an accurate diagnosis of their illness; a luxury that we in Australia take so much for granted.

Check out this photo blog which shows how Xpert has dramatically improved MDR-TB control in India.