"The Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the Lala Ram Sarup Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, collaborated with the National University of Singapore to develop" a urine test that "offers a less invasive diagnostic method for" tuberculosis (TB), SciDev reports. "Drug-resistant cases need an expensive, sophisticated test that takes two weeks of culturing blood samples to detect the bacterium," but developing countries, which "account for 95 percent of new infections and 98 percent of deaths ... prefer a simple test requiring minimum resources and trained personnel, and one that gives quick and easily interpreted results, the Delhi scientists observed," according to the news agency (Padma, 8/23).

PEPFAR recently released its 2012 Country Operational Plan Guidance, "which highlights seven program priorities: increasing prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) coverage and effectiveness; improving and refining the country's approach to treatment; programming for prevention impact; TB/HIV integration; testing and counseling; training new health care providers; and capacity building," according to the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog (Mazzotta, 8/22).

The ministry of health has raised fears that the number of patients suffering from drug resistant TB could rise considerably because TB patients are not taking their medication.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major threat to global health, taking the lives of more than a million people worldwide each year. Its greatest impact is often in the most impoverished places on earth, where patients frequently suffer from multiple chronic illnesses at the same time. In such situations, the question of whether each individual illness might make concurrent illnesses more difficult to treat becomes a critical issue both for specific patients and for general public health. New research led by Padmini Salgame, Ph.D., professor and director of the Graduate Medical Research Program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School, has established such a connection between tuberculosis and infection by parasitic worms, a frequent occurrence in much of the world. The study, by a team that also worked in collaboration with William C. Gause, Ph.D., professor and senior associate dean of research at New Jersey Medical School, appears in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Researchers have discovered a faster, cheaper method for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). A major barrier in TB prevention, especially in developing countries, is that diagnosis is slow and costly. Dr Olivier Braissant and his colleagues have developed a method which could potentially decrease the time taken to make a diagnosis. Their method is also cheaper than the current fastest methods. This research has been published today in the Society for Applied Microbiology's Journal of Applied Microbiology.

JOHANNESBURG, 16 August 2011 (PlusNews) - Lihle Dlamini is the deputy general-secretary of South Africa’s AIDS lobby group, the Treatment Action Campaign. As the country moves to include a strong emphasis on tuberculosis (TB) for the first time in its latest national strategic plan on HIV, Dlamini recounted her experience with TB treatment almost 10 years ago:

"I couldn't understand why I didn't feel well... I stumbled about, I generally felt very ill, I was losing weight, everything was going wrong."

JOHANNESBURG, 16 August 2011 (PlusNews) - While countries are rolling out new tests that will enable them to diagnose more patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), a worldwide shortage of the drugs to treat these patients is likely, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns.

JOHANNESBURG, 15 August 2011 (PlusNews) - HIV-positive people in South Africa will be able to access antiretrovirals (ARVs) sooner after the government raised the CD4 count necessary to access treatment. But some warn the victory is only half the battle.

15 August 2011 - Geneva - Today is a very important day for all people committed to making tuberculosis (TB) care available to all who need it.