Technical Report > Policy Brief
MSF Access Campaign
2022 November 8; DOI:10.57740/zxbm-0414
TB was the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent until the COVID pandemic. The number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2020 fell by 18% from the previous year due to disruptions to health systems and services caused by the pandemic, with only a partial recovery in 2021. As a result, in 2021, only one in three people with drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) received treatment for the disease.
However, since the onset of the pandemic, more effective and patient-friendly treatments and regimens for adults and children have become available to the TB community. Now more than ever there is a need to accelerate treatment and save more lives.
This Issue Brief – the eighth in this series – by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s Access Campaign, examines the current landscape and trends of DR-TB drug pricing and patents, and highlights challenges and opportunities to accelerate people’s access to lifesaving regimens that are shorter, all-oral and make use of the most effective medicines.
However, since the onset of the pandemic, more effective and patient-friendly treatments and regimens for adults and children have become available to the TB community. Now more than ever there is a need to accelerate treatment and save more lives.
This Issue Brief – the eighth in this series – by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s Access Campaign, examines the current landscape and trends of DR-TB drug pricing and patents, and highlights challenges and opportunities to accelerate people’s access to lifesaving regimens that are shorter, all-oral and make use of the most effective medicines.
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2007 June 1; Volume 41 (Issue 3); 315-319.; DOI:10.1590/s0037-86822008000300020
MSF Access Campaign
Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2007 June 1; Volume 41 (Issue 3); 315-319.; DOI:10.1590/s0037-86822008000300020
Trypanosoma cruzi infection is often not detected early on or actively diagnosed, partly because most infected individuals are either asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic. Moreover, in most places, neither blood banks nor healthcare units offer diagnostic confirmation or treatment access. By the time patients present clinical manifestations of advanced chronic Chagas disease, specific treatment with current drugs usually has limited effectiveness. Better-quality serological assays are urgently needed, especially rapid diagnostic tests for diagnosis patients in both acute and chronic phases, as well as for confirming that a parasitological cure has been achieved. Some new antigen combinations look promising and it is important to assess which ones are potentially the best, together with their requirements in terms of investigation and development. In August 2007, a group of specialized researchers and healthcare professionals met to discuss the state of Chagas infection diagnosis and to build a consensus for a plan of action to develop efficient, affordable, accessible and easy-to-use diagnostic tests for Chagas disease. This technical report presents the conclusions from that meeting.
Trypanosoma cruzi; Chagas infection; Rapid diagnostic tests; Serology; Chagas disease
Trypanosoma cruzi; Chagas infection; Rapid diagnostic tests; Serology; Chagas disease