WHO clarifies 'totally' drug resistant TB

Recently there has been broad media coverage worldwide about so-called totally drug-resistant TB.

The World Health Organisation states that the term “totally drug resistant” has not been clearly defined for tuberculosis because there is not a reliable method to diagnose it through drug susceptibility testing (DST). And importantly, correlation of DST results with clinical response to treatment has not yet been adequately established. The prognostic relevance of in vitro resistance to drugs without an internationally accepted and standardized drug susceptibility test therefore remains unclear, and current WHO recommendations advise against the use of these results to guide treatment.

We at the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat share global concerns about the threat of drug resistance and are doing our utmost to support our partners and colleagues in India as they seek to address this urgent situation.

(Health-e News, January 2012)