Latest advancements in TB science in spotlight

Bobby Ramakant – CNS
Contd from previous issue
Nix-TB and ZeNix studies have already found an all-oral short-course 6-months treatment regimen of Bedaquiline, Pretomanid and Linezolid, for highly drug-resistant TB patients (MDR-TB, XDR-TB, pre-XDR-TB) to be safe and efficacious with a treatment success rate of 90% even in HIV infected MDR-TB patients. In ZeNix study, Linezolid dosage was reduced from 1200 mg to 600 mg to decrease toxicity, and duration was reduced from six months to two months, without affecting treatment success rate.
Preventing TB cannot be on the backseat
"Globally Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse (DOTS) has been in use since 1980s. In India it was launched in 1997 as part of the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) which is now known as National TB Elimination Programme or NTEP.
(To be contd)