the pulse
The Pulse

Confronting the new TB

There may be as many as 400,000 new cases of multi-drug resistant TB each year.

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Each week The Pulse showcases topical stories from around the world and from laboratories working on new cures, vaccines and treatments.

Drug-resistant TB

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Dengue fever is spread by mosquitoes

New lethal strains of TB are emerging worldwide which cannot be treated by the standard TB therapy. This is because many TB patients do not complete their lengthy treatment allowing the bacteria to mutate into new, multi-drug resistant strains. One estimate puts the number of new MDR TB cases a year as high as 400,000.

The Pulse looks at the impact of the disease in Peru. We talk with Professor Salim Abdool Karim about his experiences in KwaZulu Natal, the site of one of the deadliest outbreaks of drug resistant TB to date.

Dengue fever

Dengue fever is an infection spread by mosquitoes and it is on the increase. It kills through uncontrollable haemorrhaging and organ failure. According to the World Health Organisation, some two fifths of the world’s population are now at risk from Dengue fever.

The Pulse visits Thailand and looks at steps being taken there to combat the disease.

Watch this episode of The Pulse here:

Part 1:

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJpMGSdegk

Episode 2 of The Pulse aired from Monday November 5, 2007


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