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Nigeria: Anambra, Highest in Childhood Tuberculosis in Nigeria – Official

“Our major challenge with Childhood TB control in the state is that parents are scared… Some of them think the medical personnel want to use their children’s stool for ‘juju”‘. Ugochukwu Chukwulobelu, programme manager, Anambra State Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Management, says the state ranks highest in Childhood Tuberculosis (TB) contribution in Nigeria. Mr […]

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Nigeria: World Tuberculosis Day 2023 – Yes, We Can End TB

Zainab (not her real name) first learned about latent tuberculosis (TB) when she was 16 and her doctor informed her that she had it. Despite the doctor’s assurance that it was an inactive form of TB, Zainab failed to complete her prescribed medication regimen. She also nursed her grandfather before he died of TB, putting […]

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South Africa: Cabinet Approves Plan for HIV, TB and STIs

Cabinet has approved the publication of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Tuberculosis (TB) and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) 2023-2028. Addressing a post-Cabinet media briefing held in Pretoria on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said the NSP proposes to deal with HIV, STIs and TB through a holistic approach […]

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South African Researchers Break New Ground in TB Vaccine Research – South African News Briefs – January 12, 2023

Cape Town — South African Researchers Bring Hope for Developing New TB Vaccines Researchers at the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) based at the University of Cape Town have broken new ground in developing for tuberculosis (TB), Times Live reports. The scientists, in collaboration with colleagues from Stanford University in the U.S., said: “Determining […]

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South Africa: New Medicines for Drug-Resistant TB Will Save Lives. but Will They Be Affordable Where They Are Most Needed?

Study, published today in New England Journal Medicine, shows that a new regimen is safer and more effective than the current standard of care. The current “standard-of-care” treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis are nine to 20 months and have side effects that cause many patients to stop taking their medication. A new regimen, which combines […]

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Africa: TB Is Once Again the Deadliest Disease in Africa – What Went Wrong

Effective tuberculosis (TB) treatment has been available for the past 60 years. But TB remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. It ranks above HIV and AIDS and others. This is partly because of the impact of HIV co-infection among TB patients in places like Africa and emergency of MDR-XDR TB. […]

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South Africa: Testing Stool Can Help Detect TB in Kids

Most tuberculosis (TB) testing today relies on sputum samples coughed up from the lungs. This makes intuitive sense since pulmonary (or lung) TB is the most common form of TB and sputum provides testable samples straight from the scene of infection. A major snag, however, is that children and some people living with HIV find […]

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Africa: TB Treatment Can Be Cut to Two Months for Some, Finds Landmark Study

Some cases of tuberculosis (TB) can be successfully treated in as little as two months – a third of the current standard of six months in South Africa and most other countries. This is according to early findings from the landmark TRUNCATE TB trial presented at last week’s Union World Conference on Lung Health. Nick […]

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Africa: Progress On Tuberculosis Can Be Achieved in Africa

Johannesburg — The news in many parts of the world is that tuberculosis (TB) is reclaiming the title of the world’s most deadly infection, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to kill an estimated 1,450 people daily around the world. But this is not news to African countries, which are home to one third of […]

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Ethiopia: Us.S.Donates 126 Tuberculosis Testing Machines Worth U.S.$3 Million to Ethiopia

Addis Ababa — United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated 126 cutting-edge GeneXpert tuberculosis (TB) testing machines worth $3 million (157.7 million Birr) to Ethiopia. A press statement sent to Addis Standard by the US Embassy in Addis Abeba says the donation “will make a significant contribution towards the government of Ethiopia’s efforts to […]

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Tanzania: TBs Intensifies Efforts to Take Counterfeits Off Shelves

Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) in the northern zone has intensified efforts to take counterfeit products off the shelves and called on the members of the public to examine the products’ information before buying. TBS Northern Acting Manager, Mr Deogratius Ngatunga made the appeal in Tanga over the weekend after impounding and destroying expired products […]

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South Africa: Tuberculosis, A Forgotten Disease Still Endemic in Cape Town

Zanyiwe Mavebenwane, from Cape Town in South Africa, hasn’t seen her eldest daughter in two months. It’s the fifth time she has had tuberculosis, and is receiving long-term care in hospital. The unemployed mother of five runs a soup kitchen a few times a week and is taking care of her one-year-old grandchild, who also […]

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South Africa: In-Depth – Use of Urine Test for TB Increasing

While tuberculosis (TB) is the top killer of people living with HIV, TB is also harder to diagnose in people living with HIV than in people who are not. What is more, TB is particularly difficult to diagnose in people living with HIV who have compromised immune systems. Imagine, for example, someone living with HIV […]

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Tanzania: TBs Trains Laboratory Experts in Lake Zone

Shinyanga — STAFFS dealing with production and measurement in industries, institutions and hospitals laboratory experts from four Lake Zone regions have been equipped in metrology science to help them produce correct measurements in the products produced. The training was conducted by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) in the regions namely Kagera, Mwanza, Mara and […]

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Zimbabwe: ‘Hard Pressed’ Zimbabwe Pledges U.S.$1million Towards Global Fund to Fight HIV, Malaria and TB

ZIMBABWE has pledged US$1 million towards the Global Fund to fight HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis (TB), despite the economic meltdown facing the nation. Speaking during a replenishment session at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York Wednesday night, President Emmerson Mnangagwa conceded Zimbabwe had benefitted immensely from the fund. “Your Excellencies, Heads […]

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Tanzania: New Drug to Treat Chronic TB for Six Months

Bagamoyo — Patients with Chronic Tuberculosis or Drug Resistant TB (DR- TB) can now be treated for six months only using a new drug known as BPal. This was said over by the Community Engagement Coordinator of the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) Dr Omar Juma, noting that in the past, the patients were receiving the […]

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South Africa: TB Treatment to Be Shortened to 4 Months for Most Kids

South Africa last published comprehensive guidelines for the management of childhood tuberculosis (TB) in 2013. Almost a decade later, there is a pressing need to update the guidelines to ensure that infants, children, and adolescents in South Africa can benefit from scientific advancements in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of TB. To ensure that scientific […]

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Africa: Let’s Fight for What Counts to End AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Geneva — Next week, taking place alongside the UN General Assembly, President Biden hosts a financing summit in New York of such importance that it will determine if millions of people live, will shape the world around us for years to come and will set the future direction of global health. At least $18 billion […]