WHO interim guidance launched on the use of bedaquiline to treat MDR-TB
13 June 2013 | Geneva | For the first time in over 40 years, a new TB drug with a novel mechanism of action - bedaquiline- is available, and was granted accelerated approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration in December 2012.
There is considerable interest in the potential of this drug to treat MDR-TB. However, information about this new drug remains limited. It has only been through two Phase IIb trials for safety and efficacy. The World Health Organization (WHO) is therefore issuing “interim policy guidance”.
Global health leaders honour UN Secretary-General Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis
15 April 2013 | Geneva | The WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, the Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Mark Dybul and the UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Dr Luiz Loures among others honoured Dr Jorge Sampaio, former United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis at a special ceremony organized by the World Health Organization and the Stop TB Partnership. A certificate of recognition was presented to Dr Sampaio by the WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan for his commitment to raising the profile of the fight against tuberculosis and advocating for improved tuberculosis control among global leaders.
World Health Organization and Global Fund cite tuberculosis threat
18 MARCH 2013 | GENEVA - WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said today that strains of tuberculosis with resistance to multiple drugs could spread widely and highlight an annual need of at least US$ 1.6 billion in international funding for treatment and prevention of the disease.
Revision of definitions and reporting framework for tuberculosis launched
15 April 2013 | Geneva | Recording and reporting of data is a fundamental component of care of patients with tuberculosis (TB) and control of the disease. Standardization of definitions and reporting structures has permitted uniformity in the reporting of indicators of performance of national TB control programmes for many years. WHO has just launched a document that revises previous WHO standard case definitions for TB and drug-resistant TB, the categories used to assign outcomes, and the standard reporting framework for TB.
Top stories
- WHO interim guidance launched on the use of bedaquiline to treat MDR-TB
- Global health leaders honour UN Secretary-General Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis
- World Health Organization and Global Fund cite tuberculosis threat
- Revision of definitions and reporting framework for tuberculosis launched
Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne infectious disease that is preventable and curable. WHO is working to dramatically reduce the burden of TB, and halve TB deaths and prevalence by 2015, through its Stop TB Strategy and supporting the Global Plan to Stop TB.
