TB News Summary (Sunday, 18 May 2008)

Photo by haominglIGRA test at least as sensitive as skin test for TB: study

The Interferon Gamma Release Assay test has reportedly been found to be at least as sensitive as the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) for identifying contacts at high risk of progression to active tuberculosis (TB).

The TST is nearly 100 years old and has several significant limitations, including producing false positive readings. We undoubtedly need new diagnostics.

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Don't dump drug-resistant TB cases on police, jails and stockades!

Earlier on HealthDev.net we read that America's only TB hospital was about to be shut down (click here).

Just one day before the impending closure, the Florida state government announced that the AG Holley TB hospital would receive funding for one more year and that a private builder would transform it into a multi-specialist private hospital.

Experts are nervously trying to save the hospital because TB has made a comeback in the US.

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Italians support TB care for children in Philippines

A private Italian foundation and the Italian Ministry of Finance jointly launched L'Otto Per Amore (The Fight for Love) last week. The project aims to extend medical assistance to children with TB in the Philippines.

The Philippines is ranked ninth on the list of 22 countries with high TB burdens.

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In India, prison inmates are FREED if they have TB and HIV

An Indian judge said that a prison inmate released on bail needed a clean and hygienic environment as he was co-infected with TB and HIV. The man had been charged with murder.

Many studies have indicated that prison conditions exacerbate the risk of TB, HIV and other infectious diseases spreading.

Bobby Ramaknat-CNS