GENEVA, Switzerland, May 12, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
You may have seen that WHO has just released a selection of their new recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant TB, including recommending the shortened DR-TB regimen (9-12 months, instead of 24 months). See this BBC story just released: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36271084
The more comprehensive WHO TB Guidelines are slated to be released in June.
MSF is already implementing these guidelines in our projects in Swaziland and Uzbekistan, and have worked closely with our TB medical staff to develop our response to this news.
BELOW: Please find two response statements from MSF on the guidelines
Overall, MSF welcomes the WHO announcement to halve the cost and time for treating multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
For media wishing to illustrate this announcement with the lived experiences of DR-TB patients, please find a number of strong patient stories on MSF’s TB Me blog, which is devoted to our patient’s voices.
You might be interested in these stories (search for names):
- Tawanda Shoko from Zimbabwe finished treatment for MDR-TB 2 months ago and describes what it was like living with the side effects of treatment for many years
- Elizabeth Wangeci from Kenya who today has her last day of treatment for MDR TB.
MSF spokespersons are available for media interviews:
- Dr Phillip du Cros, Head of MSF’s medical unit in the UK and an infectious disease doctor
- Dr Grania Brigden, TB/AMR Advisor, MSF Access Campaign
- Other spokespersons are available on request, depending on nature of inquiries!
Best regards,
Angela
BACKGROUND to WHO DR-TB guidelines:
The World Health Organization has just recommended that countries move toward shorter treatment regimens for some people with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), including people co-infected with HIV, children, and people with simple MDR-TB who have not been treated before or and have no known resistance to any of the drugs in the regimen. This recommendation comes following results from a number of large observation cohort studies using the shortened regimen.
Current DR-TB treatments usually run for 24 months and cause significant side effects; shortened regimens, which run as few as 9 months, lessen disruption of patients’ lives and are easier for patients to tolerate and adhere to. MSF began implementation of the shortened DR-TB treatment course in Uzbekistan in 2013 before expanding use of the regimen to Swaziland.
WHO is also recommending that people with confirmed rifampicin-resistant TB or multidrug-resistant TB be tested for extensively-drug-resistant (XDR) and pre-XDR-TB using rapid molecular tests as the initial test, so that they can be offered treatment that is appropriate for them as soon as possible.
MSF responds to the new WHO recommendations with the following two statements:
“The prospect of two years of TB treatment drives parents to hide their children from treatment, teenagers to abandon their ambitions, adults to decide between providing for their family or getting healthy and the elderly to wish for death. The fear of relentless suffering due to side effects manages to outweigh any hope of cure or returning to a normal life. But when I tell patients that it’s only nine months of treatment, they respond, ‘I can do that.’”
– Dr. David Lister, TB doctor for MSF in Uzbekistan and coordinator of the 9-Month Short Course Regimen study.
“WHO’s recommendation to move toward shorter treatment regimens for some people with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a positive step and countries should waste no time in putting these recommendations into practice, where feasible and appropriate. Although this treatment isn’t suitable for all patients, MSF has seen positive outcomes using a nine-month regimen in Swaziland and Uzbekistan. Shorter regimens are easier for people to tolerate and more effective for some people with DR-TB, and significantly lower costs could enable TB programmes to scale up treatment for many more people.
“Ultimately, we can’t lose sight of the desperate need for completely new treatment regimens that work for all people with drug-resistant TB and that completely eliminate the old, toxic drugs still used in these shorter regimens, particularly the daily painful injections that people must endure.
“We also welcome WHO’s recommendation that people should be diagnosed for pre-XDR or XDR-TB using the latest rapid molecular tests that can detect resistance to key second-line drugs; this is essential to ensure people who can benefit from a shorter treatment regimen can be quickly identified and started on the treatment that’s right for them.
“The newly-recommended tests are only suitable for use in central or regional-level laboratories, so in the long run, in order to get the most number of people diagnosed and on the correct treatment, we need rapid molecular diagnostic tests that can detect drug resistance and can be used in more peripheral settings.
“These recommendations come ahead of expected new guidelines from WHO for the management of MDR-TB, but countries can already start to update their national treatment guidelines so people can benefit from the latest advances in MDR-TB care.”
– Dr. Philipp du Cros, Head of MSF’s Manson Unit and infectious disease specialist
