WHO launches test to diagnose tuberculosis

• April 27, 2024

Although the incidence of tuberculosis it has fallen 35% since 1990, it is present again in some European countries where apparently it had already been eradicated, now in the form of more dangerous variants. In 2009, just over 9 million people were affected by this disease, giving as a figure 1.7 million deaths, according to data offered by the World Health Organization (WHO)

Because this disease was considered to be typical of poor countries, now that it is present in those with a much stronger monetary capacity, it was discovered that methods to diagnose it they are practically obsolete, without mentioning that their process is very slow, since the samples have to be analyzed by means of laboratory .

This system, logically, is unfeasible in countries with a poor health infrastructure . That's why the announcement of a new test that allows to make on the spot and in two hours the diagnosis; it is considered a key step to eliminate the epidemic. In addition, it goes further, because it lets you know if it's a strain resistant to medication (3.3% of all cases are already there, about 300,000 in the world), which will avoid trying unsuccessfully patients who will not respond, and allows a better choice of which drugs to use in each case.

The system still can not be considered universal, because it needs a stable electricity supply, which can not be guaranteed in all parts of the world. But it is expected that it will soon reach the countries of Latin America, which would be great help for the population .

Source: El País

Video Medicine: Mayo Clinic Center for Tuberculosis Launches New TB Journal (April 2024).