WHO launches online platform to track progress in tuberculosis research
The World Health Organization's Global Tuberculosis Control Program has launched an online platform to track progress in the development of new tuberculosis treatment regimens. Information on projects aimed at improving the prevention of the disease will also be available there.WHO has launched an online platform to track progress in the development of new tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimens, vaccine prophylaxis, and research aimed at improving the treatment and care of tuberculosis patients, according to the organization's website. The burden of disease remains highest in low- and middle-income countries, which account for 98% of reported TB cases.
The TB Research Tracker will serve as a single access point, bringing together the most up-to-date information about clinical trials in the fight against the disease and ongoing research. Users will be able to search and filter information by date, content, title, relevance and study type. This will make it easier to share important information, said Teresa Kasaeva, director of the Global TB Program.
The TB Research Tracker will collect information from multiple existing platforms, periodically contacting researchers, national TB programs, donors and technical agencies to ensure timely updates to the platform.
Tuberculosis continues to be a serious global public health problem. In fact, up to a quarter of the world's population is latently infected with tuberculosis, 10.6 million people will develop it in 2021 and 1.6 million people will die from this curable disease, making it the second most infectious "killer" after COVID-19, according to WHO.
In Russia, the incidence of tuberculosis increased by 10% last year (first-time detected cases).