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New tuberculosis (TB) therapy offers potential shorter treatment

New tuberculosis (TB) therapy offers potential shorter treatment

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A new combination treatment, co-sponsored by the United Nations Health Organization, could dramatically shorten the length of tuberculosis treatment from six months to four.

"We are working to bring together public and private partners to speed development for this new treatment," Dr. Robert Ridley, Director of the UN World Health Organization-based Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), told the 45th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy held in Washington, D.C on 16 December.

One-third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. With approximately 8 million people developing the active form of the disease every year, a shorter TB regime will help improve treatment adherence and prevent the development of multidrug-resistant TB. This is the most advanced shorter TB treatment regimen presently in development, and could be available to the public by the end of 2009 if positive results continue.

The research is planned to continue as part of an international collaboration which is being developed between the World Health Organization-based Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), the European Commission (EU), and other organizations.