Online Reports
- Volume 22—2016
- Volume 21—2015
- Volume 20—2014
Volume 22, Number 7—July 2016
Volume 22, Number 3—March 2016
Two new drugs—bedaquiline and delamanid—have recently been approved by stringent regulatory authorities to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) and recommended by the World Health Organization for use under defined programmatic conditions. Introducing the medications in TB programs worldwide has not kept pace with the need for these drugs. In response, the DR-TB STAT (Drug-Resistant TB Scale-up Treatment Action Team) task force was formed in April 2015 to monitor progress and help overcome challenges. Information was collected from multiple sources and assessed monthly. Some progress has been made in introducing bedaquiline: as of October 2015, a total of 1,258 persons were on the medication under programmatic conditions. For delamanid, >100 patients, but few under programmatic conditions, have received the medication. Coordinated global action might help assist making these medications accessible for persons who need them most.
New treatments for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) are urgently needed. Two new drugs, bedaquiline and delamanid, have recently been released, and several new drugs and treatment regimens are in the pipeline. Misuse of TB drugs is a principal cause of drug resistance. As new drugs and regimens reach the market, the need to make them available to patients must be balanced with regulation of their use so that resistance to the new drugs can be prevented. To foster the rational use of new drugs, we propose 1) expanding/strengthening the capacity for drug susceptibility testing, beginning with countries with a high TB burden; 2) regulating prescribing practices by banning over-the-counter sale of TB drugs and enacting an accreditation system whereby providers must be certified to prescribe new drugs; and 3) decentralizing MDR TB care in rural communities by employing trained community health workers, using promising mobile technologies, and enlisting the aid of civil society organizations.
- Page created: April 06, 2016
- Page last updated: April 06, 2016
- Page last reviewed: April 06, 2016
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
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National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
Office of the Director (OD)