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Sade Oguntola
Nigeria and six other countries are to benefit from a 250,000 patient courses of short course rifapentine-based preventive treatment regimens in an initiative by Unitaid-funded IMPAACT4TB Consortium to help expand access to shorter TB prevention options.
The other countries to benefit from this shorter TB prevention option of treatment expected to contribute significantly to the global effort to reduce the incidence of TB are Brazil, Haiti, India, the Maldives, Tanzania and Zambia.
The patient courses will include the three-month 3HP regimen, and the even shorter 1HP, that is only taken for 28 days.
In addition to providing the patient courses, the IMPAACT4TB Consortium will also provide technical assistance to countries in their implementation efforts, including identifying populations that could benefit from TB prevention, and determining the most appropriate regimen for them.
In a remark, Prof Gavin Churchyard, CEO of Aurum Institute and the principal investigator of the IMPAACT4TB project declared that despite commitments to end tuberculosis as a global epidemic by 2030, the disease remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing around 4,400 people every day.
According to him, “TB prevention is a cornerstone of any effort to eliminate TB, and we hope that these 250,000 patient courses will contribute to countries’ efforts to finally make TB a disease of the past.”
Executive Director of Unitaid, Dr Philippe Duneton, in a remark stated “The seven countries receiving these regimens have expressed their readiness not only to identify underserved and at-risk populations and ensure they receive these newer regimens, but also to invest in strengthening systems around contact tracing and learning lessons on how to improve TB preventive treatment uptake and coverage.”
In recent years, new and shorter rifapentine-based TB preventive treatment regimens have been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and are becoming increasingly available. Currently, over four million patient courses are being manufactured annually.
These shorter regimens are associated with higher treatment adherence, completion and outcomes. In fact, people taking shorter regimens are up to three times more likely to complete their course than those on longer regimens—leading to better outcomes and more lives saved.
These patient courses consist of shorter rifapentine-based regimens, including two treatment options: 3HP, a three-month oral treatment taken once weekly, and 1HP, a 28-day oral treatment taken once daily, increasing choice for patients needing TB preventive treatment.
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