Fight against tuberculosis: Launch of the TB-Speed study on severe pneumonia
Tuberculosis, the most deadly infectious disease in the world
It was on 24 March 1882 that Dr. Robert Koch revealed he had discovered the bacillus that causes tuberculosis, thereby paving the way for the diagnosis and treatment of this life-threatening disease. Yet almost 140 years later, tuberculosis remains the most deadly infectious disease in the world. Every day, some 30,000 people contract the disease and some 4,500 people die from it, including almost 700 children. Although tuberculosis is preventable and curable, too many children do not yet have access to the treatment and simply die due to the lack of diagnosis.
In 2019, the slogan of World TB Day states: “It’s Time”, thereby emphasising the urgent need to take action. Indeed, it is time to ensure that all children with tuberculosis can be diagnosed and can have access to the treatment where they live. It is time for the world to take steps to eradicate tuberculosis, especially in resource-limited and high-prevalence countries.
Launch of the TB-Speed Pneumonia study in 6 countries
The TB-Speed Pneumonia study plans to assess a strategy for the systematic detection of tuberculosis among children with severe pneumonia.
Tuberculosis among these children is only rarely detected or detected too late, which contributes to mortality in this already vulnerable population. The TB-Speed Pneumonia diagnosis trial will implement TB screening at hospital admission via a new “Xpert Ultra” molecular test conducted both on a respiratory sample (nasopharyngeal aspirate) and a stool sample followed by immediate TB treatment if the test is positive.
This study will include 3,800 children under the age of 5 arriving at hospital with severe pneumonia. All the children will be treated for pneumonia in accordance with the standard of care of the World Health Organization (WHO), which includes intravenous antibiotics and oxygen therapy. Half of them will benefit from the screening strategy, while the other half will continue to follow the usual procedures in place in the hospital, which thereby constitutes the control arm of the study. The ultimate objective is to determine the impact that the strategy has on mortality reduction in children with severe pneumonia.
En savoir plus sur TB-Speed
