The emerging crisis of drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa: lessons from New York City.
Authors
Murphy, R AAffiliation
Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. richard.murphy@newyork.msf.orgIssue Date
2008-06-01
Metadata
Show full item recordJournal
Clinical Infectious DiseasesAbstract
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis have emerged as important infections in South Africa among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In the face of this new epidemic, South Africa must rededicate itself to the task of tuberculosis control and treatment with a rapid, multifaceted approach. Priorities include expansion of second-line treatment capacity, investment in clinical laboratories, a system to ensure supervised treatment for all patients, and enhancement of infection control procedures. In New York City, where drug-resistant tuberculosis emerged 2 decades ago--also in the context of a large HIV-infected population and an underfunded public health infrastructure--similar steps were successful in leading to the rapid decrease in rates of drug resistance among tuberculosis isolates. With refinements based on local resource constraints, urgent measures could potentially arrest the alarming increase in multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis cases in South Africa. Unlike many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa has the capacity to mount a rapid and large-scale response before drug-resistant tuberculosis envelops a much larger and far poorer region.DOI
10.1086/587903PubMed ID
18426372Language
enISSN
1537-6591ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1086/587903
Scopus Count
Collections
Related articles
- Multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis: implications for the HIV epidemic and antiretroviral therapy rollout in South Africa.
- Authors: Andrews JR, Shah NS, Gandhi N, Moll T, Friedland G, Tugela Ferry Care and Research (TF CARES) Collaboration.
- Issue date: 2007 Dec 1
- Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis: new strains, new challenges.
- Authors: Banerjee R, Schecter GF, Flood J, Porco TC
- Issue date: 2008 Oct
- Drug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in southern Africa.
- Authors: Grobusch MP
- Issue date: 2010 May
- Drug-resistant tuberculosis. In South Africa, XDR TB and HIV prove a deadly combination.
- Authors: Koenig R
- Issue date: 2008 Feb 15
- Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
- Authors: Zager EM, McNerney R
- Issue date: 2008 Jan 25