Although TB can be cured, it is still spreading in South Africa at alarming rates. One reason could be that some people with TB disease but without TB symptoms may unknowingly be passing on the bug. In this Spotlight special briefing, Elri Voigt unpacks what we do and do not know about asymptomatic TB.
The world desperately needs an effective TB vaccine to reduce the illness and death still being caused by the centuries’ old bacterium. Chris Bateman visited a study site in Paarl where a promising experimental TB vaccine is now being tested as part of a large multi-country clinical trial.
Pregnant women are typically excluded from clinical trials of new TB medicines. This has led to a lack of solid scientific evidence on how best to treat women who fall ill with TB while they are expecting. Tiyese Jeranji asked local TB experts about the problem and puts the spotlight on a recent study that broke the mould by opening its doors to pregnant women.
Most tuberculosis (TB) tests still require a trip to the clinic. Now, new technology has made it possible to test people at home. This could be a big deal for South Africa, where much TB goes undiagnosed. Tiyese Jeranji unpacks the findings and implications of a recent study into such TB home testing.
