
Over the past couple of weeks there have been much discussion and reporting on totally drug-resistant tuberculosis (TDR-TB) based on reports of new cases in India. Here are links to coverage of TDR-TB in India, excerpt from a response by Dr. Nardell who we interviewed last year, and link to the WHO Fact Sheet on TDR-TB. Additional links to TB R&D News are included.
Yesterday, BBC News published an article on the WHO Plan entitled “Consolidated action plan to prevent and combat multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in the WHO European Region 2011–2015.” The plan outlines the problem as well as a solution that could save 120,000 lives if successful.
The United Nations (UN) released a report on July 12 on the progress made thus far on the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight MDGs include: end poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability, and global partnership. Key highlights and additional coverage on the report are included.
This week we look again at the role of efflux pumps in resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs. Louw, et al., sought to “demonstrate that the level of rifampicin resistance is defined by efflux, which regulates the intracellular concentration of rifampicin.” This is a shift from the current thinking in the field that rifampicin resistance is solely the result of mutations in the rpoB gene. The article entitled “Rifampicin Reduces Susceptibility to Ofloxacin in Rifampicin Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis through Efflux” was published ahead of print in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Additional links to TB R&D News is included.