Geneva, 21 February 2024 – There is new hope for both children and adults who have been exposed to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), following a World Health Organization (WHO) communication recommending breakthrough preventive treatments for both populations. Research from Unitaid’s BENEFIT Kids project, led by Stellenbosch University and presented at the Union World Conference in November, underpinned the recommendation for the pediatric regimen.
MDR-TB is a form of the disease that has developed resistance to two or more of the first-line drugs used against it. Because so few people access appropriate treatment and even fewer get cured, the disease continues to spread. Children are at particular risk – their weaker immune systems make them more vulnerable to infection and difficulties with diagnosis and arduous treatments mean they are more likely to suffer serious outcomes if the infection progresses to disease.
“Pediatric regimens are typically adapted from adult treatments, meaning the development of child treatments can lag years behind adult interventions. With children at such high risk from multidrug-resistant TB infection, we knew we couldn’t afford to wait,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “I’m delighted to see the Unitaid-Stellenbosch University commitment to prioritizing children in the TB response has resulted in a life-saving preventive treatment for kids at the same time as the first-ever adult regimen.”
In addition, the Unitaid-Stellenbosch University program worked concurrently to develop properly dosed, palatable, and easy to swallow formulations of levofloxacin, the key medicine used, which is already available for purchase.
The WHO’s recommendation paves the way for optimal MDR-TB prevention for children to be rolled out without delay – though funding is urgently needed to support the contact tracing necessary to find children at risk and connect them with care.
About Unitaid:
Unitaid saves lives by making new health products available and affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries. Unitaid works with partners to identify innovative treatments, tests and tools, helps tackle the market barriers that are holding them back, and gets them to the people who need them most – fast. Since it was created in 2006, Unitaid has unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking health products to help address the world’s greatest health challenges, including HIV, TB, and malaria; women’s and children’s health; and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Every year, these products benefit more than 170 million people. Unitaid is a hosted partnership of the World Health Organization.
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