WHO recommends new test, treatment plan for superbug strains of TB
By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended a speedier, cheaper treatment plan for patients with superbug forms of tuberculosis (TB) – a change that should help cure thousands of the killer disease. In what the WHO’s leading TB expert said was a critical step forward in tackling the “public health crisis” of multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the Geneva-based health agency said the new treatment plan could now be completed in 9-12 months rather than the two years previously recommended. The shorter treatment regimen also costs significantly less – at just under $1,000 per patient in developing countries, said Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO’s global TB program.