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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/02/the-suitcase-sized-kit-helping-to-rid-the-philippines-of-one-of-historys-great-killers>
"Electricity cables slung low across the roads mean that only small vehicles
can make their way through the bustling neighbourhood around Manila’s Karuhatan
health centre. The clinic, in the same unit as a fire station and nursery,
serves a working-class population, many of whom work in the multiple factories
of Valenzuela City, a suburb of the Philippine capital.
Here, in a crowded area of a busy city, cutting-edge medical technology is
being used in an effort to end tuberculosis, a disease that has plagued
humanity for millennia. Every year, 1.5 million people die from TB – making it
the planet’s top infectious killer.
Outside the clinic, dozens of people sit on plastic chairs waiting for a lung
check – today is for the over-60s. Under the shelter of a gazebo, they step in
front of a portable X-ray machine. Five minutes later, the image has been read
by an artificial intelligence program and the picture on the technician’s
tablet lights up blue – meaning it’s all clear – or with areas highlighted in
green that could be tuberculosis.
Anyone with potential TB is asked to step into another open-sided tent, where
they provide a sputum sample, which is placed into a battery-powered desktop
laboratory machine on a folding table. Using similar technology to the PCR
testing equipment used widely during the Covid pandemic, it can detect the
presence of the TB bacteria in about an hour. It can also determine whether the
person’s infection is likely to respond to first-line drugs, or will need a
different treatment designed for use when the bacteria has become resistant to
those medicines.
Dr Cecilia Aquino, the National TB Programme medical coordinator for Valenzuela
City, says this system is much quicker than the previous one, which relied on
suspected TB patients going to a hospital and paying for an X-ray. The
turnaround time for X-ray results alone could be a day, she says, while for
“the specimen results, we’d have to wait three to five days”.
The new system means the right treatment can be started sooner – to cure the
patient and prevent others in their household from being infected.
The diagnostic equipment can also be taken on foot in its “suitcase” to places
inaccessible to vehicles. Medics have carried it by boat to remote islands, and
it is robust enough to be dragged up to mountain communities.
Other advances in TB treatment are imminent. There are 17 vaccine candidates,
five of which are in phase 3 clinical trials. While the BCG vaccine – more than
100 years old – protects young children against severe and deadly forms of TB,
it does not prevent transmission among adults. It is hoped the new vaccines
will."
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
