11 September 2006
The Department of Health is making progress in ascertaining supply of
additional drugs, Capreomycin and Para Amino Salicylic Acid, to deal with
Extreme Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB) with a local company agreeing to
provide one of the drugs.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Aspen has agreed to supply Capreomycin and the
process is underway to get a supplier for Para Amino Salicylic Acid.
The two additional drugs that are being sought to deal with XDR TB are not
new inventions. They have been used for treatment of TB before and replaced by
the current first line of TB drugs, which had better treatment outcomes. These
drugs are being reintroduced because of resistance to the first and second line
of drugs.
There has been no invention of new TB drugs over the past four decades.
The XDR TB strain has resistance to all first-level drugs (ordinary
treatment given to TB patients) and it also has resistance to two of the major
classes of the second-level drugs used to treat patients with
Multi-Drug-Resistant (MDR) TB.
Enquires:
Charity Bhengu
Cell: 083 679 7424
Issued by: Department of Health
11 September 2006
