Yay for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation!
September 19th, 2007 at 3:36 pm | posted by Virginia Simmonshttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/health/19briefs-gates.html?ref=health
Good news in the fight against tuberculosis: on Tuesday the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a total of $280 million in grants for tuberculosis vaccine development, drug discovery and diagnostics. Tuberculosis has infected an estimated one-third of the people on earth, and kills almost 2 million people each year. The world’s poorest countries have been hit hard by the epidemic. The targeted funding will help to reduce the global tuberculosis burden.
New technology for preventing, diagnosing and treating tuberculosis is desperately needed. The current vaccine is more than 80 years old and rarely works after childhood. Tuberculosis drugs are becoming less and less effective as drug resistance rises. As a result, the current drugs must be administered through the Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) method, where health care providers must witness patients completing the drug regimen over a period of months to prevent further drug resistance. The need for new diagnostic tools was publically illustrated earlier this year when U.S. citizen Andrew Speaker exposed fellow travelers to an extensively drug resistant strain (XDR-TB) of the disease.
This new round of Gates funding has the potential to save many lives, and helping to stop the spread of tuberculosis.
-Elizabeth Gregg, ONE Government Affairs & Policy Intern
September 20th, 2007 at 12:16 am
It’s great to see the Gates using their resources to make a difference in our day. What a difference we all can make as we use our abilities and resources to help others.
Thanks ONE Campaign for what you do and for letting us know about the good things that are happening through people that are making a difference in our day.
gaj