A quicker
diagnosis and a shorter and cheaper course of treatment for multidrug-resistant
TB patients in Cambodia could soon be on the horizon.
The World
Health Organization recommends countries with high incidences of TB, including
Cambodia, begin implementing the new treatment regimen based on studies in 10
countries.
“Cambodia,
as a WHO member state, is of course expected to take note of this
recommendation and adapt it, according to its local epidemical context,” said
Ernesto Jaramillo, a TB expert with the WHO.
Health
officials in Cambodia will develop a plan to implement the new regimen by late
2017 or early 2018, said Dr Mao Tan Eang, director of the National Centre for
Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control.
The new
treatment, which costs less than $1,000 per patient, could be completed in nine
to 12 months, compared to the current period of 18 to 24 months, said Tan Eang.
Officials would phase out the existing regimen.
“We hope
to be more efficient and cost-effective,” he said.
Although
TB is a leading cause of death in Cambodia, a 2015 Yale Global Heath Review
study found that multi-drug resistant TB hasn’t been a significant problem, but
rates are rising.
In 2015,
70 multidrug-resistant TB cases were identified in the Kingdom, and officials
expect to identify 145 this year, Tan Eang said. It’s too early to estimate
funding levels needed, he said.
US
Embassy spokesman Courtney Woods said that once the WHO releases the guidelines
in June, USAID will discuss with the national centre how it can “support the
roll-out of the new recommendations at the country level”.
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