The story does not mention that the traditional TB drug can have serious side effects including damage to the liver. It was a case that sometimes the cure was worse than the disease. This new drug combination should help considerably to avoid those side effects. Also, the story does not mention that most people with latent TB never develop active TB. The risk is greatest for those with HIV or other immune system suppression. If the 8000 test subjects were otherwise normal and divided into two groups of 4000 and not treated at all, then over 10 years no more than 40 in each group would be expected to develop active TB. The reduction to less than 10 with the new drug combination is very significant.
Or... we could just vaccinate our children against TB just like the rest of the first world. It's a recommended vaccination by the World Health Organization and is used in over 100 different countries to prevent TB outbreaks thanks to herd immunity. One shot of a TB vaccine is significantly cheaper.
That would be nice.
The story does not mention that the traditional TB drug can have serious side effects including damage to the liver. It was a case that sometimes the cure was worse than the disease. This new drug combination should help considerably to avoid those side effects. Also, the story does not mention that most people with latent TB never develop active TB. The risk is greatest for those with HIV or other immune system suppression. If the 8000 test subjects were otherwise normal and divided into two groups of 4000 and not treated at all, then over 10 years no more than 40 in each group would be expected to develop active TB. The reduction to less than 10 with the new drug combination is very significant.
Or... we could just vaccinate our children against TB just like the rest of the first world. It's a recommended vaccination by the World Health Organization and is used in over 100 different countries to prevent TB outbreaks thanks to herd immunity. One shot of a TB vaccine is significantly cheaper.