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Why isn't SA getting these life-saving TB drugs?

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Photo: © Bruno De Cock. Source: http://www.msf.org/
Photo: © Bruno De Cock. Source: http://www.msf.org/

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and other treatment providers in South Africa and globally have found that the first new drugs in half a century to be developed for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) are offering new hope to patients — but significant challenges remain to improve availability and affordability of these treatments.

Current treatment regimens for DR-TB involve thousands of pills taken over two years, which can have devastating side effects and ultimately only work for 50% of people with multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB and 26% of people with extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB.

Read: Research into TB and HIV unveils hope and challenges

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