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INTERNATIONAL NOTES
MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS
Access to high-quality drugs at reduced prices
Every year, 1.7 million people die of tuberculosis. In recent
years, outbreaks of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in public institutions
(hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters) in the United States, Europe and
Latin America have caused many deaths and raised concerns about the epidemic
transmission of MDR-TB.
The high cost of the drugs needed to treat MDR-TB (<= US$19,000
for a course of treatment) is currently an obstacle to their widespread use.
In order to provide access to high quality second-line drugs at reduced prices,
and to a system designed to promote the use of the drugs in the most effective
manner, an international partnership has been established under the leadership
of the World Health Organization (WHO), Médecins sans frontières
and Harvard Medical School.
Some countries should be able to save as much as 94% of their
current spending on the drugs needed to treat MDR-TB. WHO and its international
partners are helping countries to ensure that these drugs are used effectively
and providing technical support to improve the treatment available.
In order to ensure proper use of these drugs, a multiagency
collaboration known as the Green Light Committee has been established to assist
countries benefiting from the reduced prices in planning their intervention
to achieve the best possible treatment outcomes. The cut in drug prices coupled
with ensuring rational use through extensive country assistance will help
to provide treatment to patients and contribute to the rapid development of
a global policy on the treatment of MDR-TB.
Source: WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record, Vol
76, No 36, 2001.
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