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New tools and approaches to drug-resistant TB | Collections | MSF Science Portal

The World Health Organization estimates that 410,000 people developed a drug-resistant tuberculosis infection (DR-TB) in 2022, only 40% of whom were diagnosed and started on treatment—and only 63% then cured. Given all these points of failure, innovation in preventing, diagnosing and treating DR-TB cannot come fast enough.

To mark World TB Day (24 March 2024) the content collection linked below highlights recent work by MSF and collaborators to help change this grim picture. The TB-PRACTECAL and endTB studies delivered robust evidence for shorter, safer, more effective drug regimens that are already saving lives worldwide. Other studies explore new approaches to preventive treatment and simpler, quicker, accurate detection of TB and drug resistance—especially among difficult-to-diagnose populations such as children and people living with HIV.

But to impact DR-TB globally these innovations must become widely accessible. This requires changes on many fronts, as described in an accompanying Collection (Expanding Access to Lifesaving New TB Tools).

Collection Content

Journal Article
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Research

Short oral regimens for pulmonary rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (TB-PRACTECAL): an open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 2B-3, multi-arm, multicentre, non-inferiority trial

Nyang'wa BT, Berry C, Kazounis E, Motta I, Parpieva N,  et al.
2024-02-01 • Lancet Respiratory Medicine
2024-02-01 • Lancet Respiratory Medicine
BACKGROUND
Around 500,000 people worldwide develop rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis each year. The proportion of successful treatment outcomes remains low and new treatments are nee...
Journal Article
|
Research

Nine-month, all-oral regimens for rifampin-resistant tuberculosis

Guglielmetti L, Khan U, Velasquez GE, Gouillou M, Abubakirov A,  et al.
2024-01-29 • medRxiv
2024-01-29 • medRxiv

BACKGROUND

Aft...

Journal Article
|
Research

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex using the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay on the stool of pediatric patients in Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Rekart ML, Mun L, Aung A, Gomez D, Mulanda WK,  et al.
2023-01-09 • Microbiology Spectrum
2023-01-09 • Microbiology Spectrum
We report the findings of a prospective laboratory diagnostic accuracy study to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay for Mycobact...
Conference Material
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Slide Presentation

Pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment in two closely monitored cohorts

Lachenal N, Hewison CCH, Berry C, Mitnick CD, Ahmed SM,  et al.
2022-05-11 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
2022-05-11 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
Conference Material
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Abstract

Can point-of-care ultrasound support tuberculosis diagnosis in children? The experience of MSF in Guinea-Bissau

Moreto-Planas L, Sagrado MJ, Mahajan R, Gallo J, Biague E,  et al.
2022-05-11 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
2022-05-11 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
INTRODUCTION
Tuberculosis (TB) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children and over 50% of childhood TB remains undiagnosed every year. As microbiological confirmati...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Being heard on all-oral therapy for resistant tuberculosis

Furin J, Isaakidis P
2022-05-02 • Lancet Infectious Diseases
2022-05-02 • Lancet Infectious Diseases
Journal Article
|
Research

Feasibility and acceptability of using the novel urine-based FujiLAM test to detect tuberculosis: A multi-country mixed-methods study

Rucker SCM, Lissouba P, Akinyi M, Lubega AV, Stewart RC,  et al.
2022-05-01 • Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
2022-05-01 • Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
BACKGROUND
The novel urine-based FujiLAM test identifies tuberculosis in HIV-positive patients but may be challenging to use at point-of-care (POC).

OBJECTIVES
We assess...
Journal Article
|
Research

Whole genome sequencing has the potential to improve treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in high burden settings: a retrospective cohort study

Cox HS, Goig GA, Salaam-Dreyer Z, Dippenaar A, Reuter A,  et al.
2022-02-16 • Journal of Clinical Microbiology
2022-02-16 • Journal of Clinical Microbiology
BACKGROUND
Treatment of multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB), although improved in recent years with shorter, more tolerable regimens, remains largely...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Tuberculosis preventive therapy for children and adolescents: an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Mohr-Holland E, Douglas-Jones B, Apolisi I, Ngambu N, Mathee S,  et al.
2021-03-01 • Lancet Child and Adolescent Health
2021-03-01 • Lancet Child and Adolescent Health
Journal Article
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Commentary

Introducing new and repurposed TB drugs: the endTB experience

Seung KJ, Khan UT, Varaine FFV, Ahmed SM, Bastard M,  et al.
2020-10-01 • International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
2020-10-01 • International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
In 2015, the initiative Expand New Drug Markets for TB (endTB) began, with the objective of reducing barriers to access to the new and repurposed TB drugs. Here we describe the major imp...

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MSF Scientific Days International 2023
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Mini-Lab—MSF's simplified bacteriology laboratory for low-resource settings

Mini-Lab—MSF's simplified bacteriology laboratory for low-resource settings
Resistance to antibiotics is a growing public health crisis, especially in countries with fragile health systems and in regions at war. One key limitation in most of these settings is a lack of clinical bacteriology laboratory capacity, which leaves medical providers without ways to accurately diagnose patient infections and to tailor antibiotic treatment accordingly. To help fill this critical gap, MSF and partners have developed the Mini-Lab—a small-scale, standalone lab that is easy to transport, set up and operate by staff after only a short training. Its six modules are stocked with everything needed to diagnose common bloodstream and urinary tract infections and to perform antibiotic sensitivity testing using methods adapted to extremely hot climates and remote settings. With Mini-Lab now being rolled out to selected MSF projects, here we highlight the background to its development and some of the research behind the bacteriological tests it incorporates.
Snake envenoming: a neglected crisis

Snake envenoming: a neglected crisis

Every year 2 million or more people fall victim to snakebite envenoming, mostly in poor, rural communities of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Between 83,000—138,000 of them die, while hundreds of thousands more suffer debilitating long-term complications or disabilities.


Although some antivenom medicines are highly effective when used promptly and appropriately, many snakebite victims get no treatment at all. Those who do may receive antivenoms which don’t work against the type of snake that bit them, or were not rigorously tested for safety and effectiveness.


To mark World Snakebite Awareness Day on September 19th, the Collection linked below brings together recent MSF work on this highly neglected disease. Several articles and conference presentations help fill evidence gaps on the burden of disease and its impacts or on treatment outcomes with specific antivenoms in specific regions. Others examine how to tackle the formidable challenges of availability and affordability, the absence of regulatory oversight for making, testing and registering antivenoms, and the anemic R&D pipeline for new products—all of which impede access for patients to safe, effective treatment tailored to local snake species.

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New tools and approaches to drug-resistant TB

New tools and approaches to drug-resistant TB