The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · Jan 2004
Review Comparative StudyThe Global TB Drug Facility: innovative global procurement.
The Global TB Drug Facility (GDF) is a new initiative to increase access to high quality tuberculosis drugs. The GDF, a project of the Global Partnership to Stop TB, is managed by its secretariat, in the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva. It aims to provide tuberculosis drugs to treat up to 11.6 million patients over the next 5 years and to assist countries to reach the WHO global TB control targets by 2005. ⋯ The GDF is flexible enough to meet the needs of countries with a TB burden. The GDF experience could be used as an example for global procurement of drugs and commodities for other diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. In the future it is likely that the GDF will expand to include second-line drugs and diagnostic materials for TB and could assist other partnerships to develop similar mechanisms and facilities to meet country needs.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · Jan 2004
Comparative StudyTuberculin reactivity and tuberculosis epidemiology in the Pakaanóva (Wari') Indians of Rondônia, south-western Brazilian Amazon.
To investigate the characteristics of tuberculin skin test reactivity in the Pakaanóva Indians, in Amazonia, Brazil, after revaccination of all study participants with bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG). ⋯ The Pakaanóva showed a high proportion (58.4%) of non-reactors, even with a recent BCG booster. Sex differences in PPD reactivity were either not present or could not be demonstrated. The association between age and PPD reactivity resembles that observed in other Amazonian populations. The authors discuss the potential of PPD testing as a screening tool to enhance tuberculosis detection, especially in indigenous populations in Amazonia with limited access to health services.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · Jan 2004
Review Comparative StudyGlobal Partnership to Stop TB: a model of an effective public health partnership.
The Global Partnership to Stop TB. ⋯ The Partnership is potentially an effective model for other public health issues. As such, it can contribute to and catalyse a new era of international cooperation.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · Jan 2004
Comparative StudyIdentifying early treatment failure on category I therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis in Lima Ciudad, Peru.
Ambulatory, public tuberculosis treatment facilities, central Lima, Peru. ⋯ A large proportion of failures on Category I therapy can be identified early. As three-quarters of patients with susceptibility results have MDR-TB, early referral for culture and drug susceptibility testing is critical for prompt initiation of appropriate therapy and improved outcomes.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · Jan 2004
Prospects for new TB vaccines: Stop TB Working Group on TB Vaccine Development.
Research towards the development of improved TB vaccines has reached an important turning point. A large number of vaccine candidates such as modified BCG, attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis and protein or DNA subunit vaccines, resulting from over a decade of work in experimental laboratory models, are now getting ready for clinical testing. ⋯ Facilities and funding need to be identified for the production of clinical vaccine lots, an issue that is difficult to tackle due to the live organisms in some of the new vaccine candidates; regulatory hurdles need to be overcome; protocols and trial sites need to be developed, for phase III clinical efficacy trials in particular. The Stop TB Working Group on TB Vaccine Development provides a global forum that brings laboratory and clinical researchers together with experts in tuberculosis control and representatives from commercial and non-profit funding agencies to address these issues and to facilitate progress towards the common goal of improved vaccination strategies for tuberculosis.