Happy New Year! Our first email of 2019 comes at a time of some good news for DR-TB patients. In December, the World Health Organization (WHO) released treatment guidelines that recommend drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) be treated with oral drugs only, including the newer, more potent drugs with fewer side effects, such as bedaquiline. Two injectable drugs that are known to cause deafness and other severe side effects are no longer recommended in the new guidelines. This is an important step towards more developing tolerable treatment for all patients.
The recommended 18 to 20-month treatment regimen includes more potent drugs – bedaquiline, linezolid, levofloxacin and moxifloxacin. These drugs can help improve cure rates, reduce deaths and cause fewer side effects. In response, MSF is calling on countries with a heavy burden of DR-TB to urgently start implementing these new treatment guidelines for at least half of the new DR-TB cases by September 2019 and to make efforts to reach all people in need by March 2020. Findings from an observational study run by MSF and partners following 1,200 people on DR-TB treatment (endTB*) helped affirm the safety and effectiveness of the newer oral drugs, bedaquiline and delamanid, and supported the WHO’s recommendation that bedaquiline, in particular, be considered a core drug for treatment of MDR-TB.
“The new WHO recommendations offer the best opportunity in a long time to finally start improving treatment for people with drug-resistant TB, using better drugs that cause fewer debilitating side effects,” said Dr.Naira Khachatryan with MSF in Armenia. “The time is now for countries with large numbers of people with DR-TB to swiftly update their policies and roll out the newer treatment regimen that is more effective and easier for people to tolerate. Let’s not waste a minute in putting an end to the suffering of people who have to endure toxic and agonizing treatment with drugs that must be injected.”
Swagata Yadavar, a journalist working with Indiaspend, was MSF’s media fellow for 2018. She travelled to South Africa and Mumbai to learn more about the latest developments in DR-TB treatment, and related issues around access to the essential medicines. You can read her stories here.
This year also we will raise our voice to push Johnson & Johnson to reduce the price of the lifesaving TB drug bedaquiline to $1/day. Our 2019 wishlist highlights what we and other organizations need to provide the best medical care for people in our projects. As 2018 came to a close, we had one wish granted as we welcomed the arrival of a new, simple, oral treatment for people with sleeping sickness, thanks to the hard work of our colleagues at DNDi, who have demonstrated that a different way of doing medical R&D is possible, at a fraction of what pharmaceutical corporations claim it costs to develop a new drug. You can read more about our other wishes here.
In January the World Health Organization will release a draft ‘roadmap’ outlining interventions that are needed to overcome the range of barriers people face in accessing treatment for snakebite. This will be important for mobilising governments and donors to respond to snakebite with the urgency and attention that this neglected public health crisis demands. If you are interested in reporting on this please contact us.
In December the world also witnessed a devastating tsunami hit coastal areas of Indonesia along the Sunda Strait killing at least 429 people and injuring 1,485. Our existing presence in the area allowed for a rapid response after the tsunami struck. We mobilized three teams in the area, with one team supporting the health centre in Carita, a second team supporting the health centre in Labuan—both in Pandeglang district—and a mobile team visiting various communities to treat injured patients unable to make it to a health facility. As of 9th January 2019, MSF has treated 783 patients and distributed 500 hygiene kits.
In 2018 our teams continued to provide life-changing medical care around the world, while our photographers were beside them documenting and capturing the work of our teams, and the stories of the individuals and communities they assist. Here is a snapshot of our projects this year.
As the world kicked off 2019 with renewed hope and wishes; MSF teams were busy helping women safely give birth – bringing new life into a new year. Take alook at MSF’s new year babies!
Know someone in your newsroom who would be interested in our stories? Click on the link below or email us at aditi.sonrexa@new-delhi.msf.org
