By Sophie Cousins
Ending global tuberculosis will require new diagnostic tools, new ways to support adherence to treatment, new drug regimens, and a vaccine, experts told Devex at the 48th Union World Conference on Lung Health.
The WHO End TB Strategy aims to reduce TB deaths by 95 percent and cut new cases by 90 percent between 2015 and 2035. Some 10.4 million people became infected with TB in 2015, and 1.8 million died, according to the World Health Organization’s 2016 Global Tuberculosis report.
“If we don’t have new tools, then forget it,” Dr. Paula Fujiwara, scientific director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told Devex. “We need new diagnostics, new regimens that work together and a vaccine. To me, if we don’t have these things, then forget it.”
Experts including those gathered in Guadalajara this week are working tirelessly to develop new tools that can transform the TB landscape, including technologies that target diagnosis, treatment, and delivery.
Devex spoke with three TB researchers who presented new findings that they hope will transform efforts to combat the epidemic.
Gerard Cangelosi, Adjunct Professor of Global Health, is quoted in this story.
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