Poor diagnosis driving global multidrug-resistant TB, WHO warns

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Poor diagnosis driving global multidrug-resistant TB, WHO warns

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - Half a million people fell sick with dangerous superbug strains of tuberculosis (TB) in 2012, but fewer than one in four were diagnosed, putting the rest at risk of dying due to the wrong medicines or no treatment at all. Latest data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which says drug-resistant TB is a "global health security risk", showed a third of the estimated 9 million people who contract TB in any form each year do not get the care they need. This has led to drug resistance spreading around the world at an alarming rate and has given rise to incurable strains of the bacterial infection - known as totally drug-resistant TB - which cannot be treated with any known medicines. "Earlier and faster diagnosis of all forms of TB is vital," said WHO director general Margaret Chan as the U.N. health agency published new TB data on Thursday.

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