PREDICT TB : Prevention of Resistance, Evaluation of Diagnostics and Intensified or Custom-made Treatment of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is still a global health problem of immense proportion. Indeed, TB is considered the second most frequent cause of infectious disease-related death worldwide (after HIV-AIDS). The World Health Organization (WHO) is increasing its efforts to reduce the global threat of TB. Nevertheless, the morbidity and mortality statistics for TB remain shocking. For example, the WHO estimates that the global burden of disease caused by TB in 2010 comprised 8.8 million incident cases, including 1.1 million deaths from TB among HIV-negative individuals, and an additional 0.35 million deaths from HIV-associated TB.1 Additional to these impressive figures is the underlying problem of latent TB infections, with as many as one-third of the world’s population being thought to be latently infected with this bacterium, an immense pool of potential patients around. Further, all current treatment programs tend to be specifically aimed towards the treatment of active TB infection, leaving the huge underlying problem of latent TB infections untouched, essentially meaning that the worldwide elimination of TB is still a distant dream.

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