Uniting to end the TB epidemic: advances in disease control from prevention to better diagnosis and treatment

BMC Medicine

Editorial

Ibrahim Abubakar¹  Helen Fletcher²  Timothy D. McHugh³  Marc Lipman⁴ 

[1] Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and MRC Clinical Trials Unit, University College London, London, UK;UCL-TB, University College London, London, UK;Department of Immunology and Infection, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK;TB Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK;UCL-TB, University College London, London, UK;Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, London, UK;UCL-TB, University College London, London, UK;Division of Medicine, University College London, London, UK;

关键词: Elimination;    Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis;    Tuberculosis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12916-016-0599-1

 received in 2016-03-12, accepted in 2016-03-12,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Tuberculosis is a major global cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite recent advances in containing the epidemic, several challenges continue to slow progress towards elimination including the continuing impact of drug resistant disease, and the lack of appropriate tools. Curtailing the transmission of tuberculosis remains a challenge especially in high burden countries. New developments in measuring correlates of protection are urgently needed to support the evaluation of vaccines. Similarly, despite progress in molecular diagnostics, better tools are required to identify resistance to antibiotics in multi and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis. Whole Genome Sequencing may lead to the next generation of assays to rapidly detect resistance and evaluate transmission. Advances on shortening treatment are hampered by the lack of a biomarker of cure which obviates the current long wait for relapses in trials. New research is urgently needed to support development of new vaccines and better diagnostics tools and shorter treatment for drug sensitive and resistant tuberculosis.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Abubakar et al. 2016