New techniques alone are not going to improve TB outcomes. Programmes are.

Is it true that "those with multidrug-resistant TB must take medicine from 11 to 20 months"?

Jamie

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Yangon to go high-tech in TB fight
Aung Phay Kyi Soe
Myanmar Times
3 October 2109

Yangon health authorities said they will utilise state-of-the-art machines, called GeneXpert, to diagnose tuberculosis among residents in five townships starting this month, a senior TB disease specialist said.

The machine will be used in diagnosing suspected TB cases in Hlaing Tharyar, Shwe Pyi Thar, Insein, Mingaladon and Mayangone townships, according to Dr Zaw Myint, head of the Yangon National Tuberculosis Programme.

“Besides using the machines for diagnosis, we will also provide treatment for TB and multidrug-resistant TB,” he said.

“These machines were only used for diagnosis of multidrug-resistant TB before. We will also extend the use of these machines to other townships in the region,” he added.

Twenty-two GeneXpert machines have been set up in Yangon, and another four are expected to be added before the year ends.

Hlaing Tharyar, Shwe Pyi Thar, Insein, Mingaladon, South Dagon and Mayangone townships have the highest incidence of TB in Yangon.

TB patients must take medication from six to eight months, but those with multidrug-resistant TB must take medicine from 11 to 20 months.

“To reduce the rate of TB infection in the region, public cooperation is important,” Dr Tun Myint, deputy director general of the Yangon Regional Health Department, said. “We need the public to accept our services. Only then will we get good results.”

In 2018, more than 33,000 TB patients were treated in Yangon. The regional government is set to embark on a two-year plan in January to fight the disease. TB is a major public health problem in Myanmar, which is among 30 countries in the world with the highest rate of the disease.

https://www.mmtimes.com/news/yangon-go-high-tech-tb-fight.html