Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

BOTSWANA: Extremely dangerous TB strain detected
21 Jan 2008 17:31:13 GMT
 Source: IRIN
JOHANNESBURG, 21 January 2008 (IRIN) - Two cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) have been confirmed in Botswana, health officials said.

"The two cases were picked up during a routine survey for multidrug- resistant TB (MDR-TB)," Setshwano Mokgweetsinyana of the Department of Public Health, told IRIN. The survey also confirmed 100 cases of MDR-TB.

MDR-TB strains cannot be treated by at least two of the main first-line TB drugs, while XDR-TB is resistant to most first and second-line drugs, severely limiting treatment options. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), XDR-TB strains have now been detected in 41 countries, including South Africa and Mozambique. Most southern African countries lack the laboratory facilities to detect XDR-TB.

Patients usually develop MDR-TB as a result of not completing treatment for an earlier bout of TB; failure to complete the lengthy MDR-TB treatment creates the risk that they will develop XDR-TB.

The two XDR-TB cases were admitted to the national referral centre, Princess Marina hospital in the capital, Gaborone. Mokgweetsinyana said one of the cases had been a mineworker in South Africa, while the other had never been out of the country. "Their immediate relatives have been isolated and are being tested for XDR-TB."

Botswana has been conducting periodic tests for MDR-TB since research published in 2005 in the British medical journal, The Lancet, indicated that the incidence of resistance to anti-TB drugs in the country had been increasing since 1995, said Mokgweetsinyana

The research, led by Lisa Nelson, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA, found that resistance to at least one drug in new TB patients rose from 3.7 percent in 1995 to more than 10 percent in 2002, and that 60 percent of the group tested were also infected with HIV.

Mokgweetsinyana said Botswana has a high incidence of TB, with 500 cases per 100,000 people reported every year. "It is a very serious problem, as most of those who are infected also have HIV."

People with immune systems compromised by HIV are 50 times more likely to develop active TB, but the sputum tests most commonly used to detect TB often fail to recognise it in HIV-infected patients. According to UNAIDS, Botswana has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates - 24.1 percent among people aged 15 to 49.

XDR-TB strains have already killed over 200 people in South Africa, and pose a serious threat to this part of the continent, where HIV prevalence is the highest in the world

jk/he

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Tuberculosis

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Mozambique floods: "Send us outboards"
IFRC - Switzerland

•  International Federation launches appeal for flood-stricken southern Africa
IFRC - Switzerland

•  ACT Alert: Floods in Mozambique
ACT - Switzerland

•  CWS situation report: Mozambique floods
CWS

•  ActionAid update on floods in southern Africa
ActionAid

MORE >>

Latest news

•  BOTSWANA: Extremely dangerous TB strain detected

•  Zimbabwe police ban opposition march

•  Political unrest threatens world health-WHO chief

•  Giant newt, tiny frog identified as most at risk

•  SOUTHERN AFRICA: Contingency planning saves many from floods

MORE >>

IRIN news

Related articles

Breaking stories
BOTSWANA: Extremely dangerous TB strain detected (1 minute ago)

Zimbabwe police ban opposition march (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
Climate change and conflicts: Is there a link at all? (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
Mozambique floods: "Send us outboards" (1 minute ago)

Blogs
Bali climate change talks: 'The long, arduous road' to nowhere? (1 minute ago)

Maps
MAP: Southern Africa Floods (Jan 17) (1 minute ago)


Country information

Topics
Tuberculosis
Facts & figures
South Africa Botswana Mozambique

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-21T165314Z_01_SIN402_RTRIDSP_2_AFRICA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SIN402.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-21T164853Z_01_SIN400_RTRIDSP_2_AFRICA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SIN400.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-21T164806Z_01_AFR19_RTRIDSP_2_AFRICA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR19.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-21T164656Z_01_AFR20_RTRIDSP_2_AFRICA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR20.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-21T164542Z_01_AFR16_RTRIDSP_2_AFRICA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR16.htm

Ruined maize crops are pictured here in the Zambezi valley on the main road between Caia and Sena January 21, 2008. The World Food Programme (WFP) began helicopter operations on Monday ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Jan 21 17:35:18 2008