New Threat from TB
Tuberculosis (TB) has been making a come back for a long time. Although it has been practically wiped out in the Western world it is still fairly prevalent in other parts of the world. Now it seems there is a strain that can not be treated by the commonly used prescription drugs.
TB strain identified as ‘virtually untreatable’
There are over 425,000 cases of multi-drug resistant (MRT) TB each years world-wide mostly in India, China and the former Soviet Union. The resistance develops primarily because treatment isn’t followed through completely.
Also, TB isn’t the only bacteria developing resistance. many common bacteria are now occurring that are resistant to many common anti-biotics and the number of drugs to treat these is not increasing at a equivalent pace.
The main problem is these drugs don’t generate huge financial numbers for big pharma and something is going to have to change before advances are made. Maybe once it again becomes a common problem like it was back in the early 20th century will there again be a resurgence in discovery activities related to antibiotics.
Other Resources
• WHO | Tuberculosis
• Center for Disease Control | Tuberculosis
• MedlinePlus: Tuberculosis
• Tuberculosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Technorati Tags: antibiotics, drug resistance, tuberculosis
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