‘Francophone study’ that changes the course of MDR-TB treatment released in Liverpool

The final results of the breakthrough ‘francophone study’ on the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, MDR-TB treatment has been released in Liverpool in the 47th Union World Conference on Lung Health.

The preliminary results of the study prompted the World Health Organisation to shorten the painful two years treatment of the dangerous form of TB to nine months after a Bangladesh study showed the success.

The final results released on Wednesday showed that nine-month treatment had 82 percent success rate, compared with previous long treatment that even achieved cure rates below 55 percent.

The study was carried out among MDR-TB patients in nine French speaking countries -- Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Rwanda – with 1,006 rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis patients.

“The francophone study is a breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant TB,” said Dr Paula I Fujiwara, Scientific Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) on the release of the study.

“These results have now been replicated in many different settings and with a large number of patients, showing conclusively that this is the most effective treatment for drug-resistant TB discovered to date.”

Researchers from The Union, together with the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Anvers (Belgium), the San Raffaele Scientific Institute of Milan (Italy) and the researchers of the studied countries carried out the research.

Based on the strong preliminary data presented in Dec 2015, the WHO in May this year recommended that the nine-month treatment regimen be used in place of the previous regimens.

Bangladesh was the first country that conducted the study and results of which published in 2O13 showed that using a combination of available drugs in different doses can reduce the MDR-TB treatment course to nine months.

The study inspired the global community to try in the high-burden francophone countries.

“With strong evidence now showing that this regimen is the most effective available for treating multidrug-resistant forms of TB, the next step is for countries to begin widely implementing this new approach,” said Dr Arnaud Trébucq, a senior consultant with The Union.

TB is fully curable if properly treated. But in case of the MDR-TB, which is the outcome of mismanagement of TB treatment, the cure rate is 50 percent. WHO considers the drug-resistant TB as a “crisis”.

In September this year, the United Nations General Assembly issued a declaration committing to take worldwide action against drug-resistant TB.

The declaration recognised that within the broader context of antimicrobial resistance, resistance to antibiotics “is the greatest and most urgent global risk, requiring increased attention and coherence at the international, national and regional levels.”

The four-day annual conference in Liverpool is themed on “confronting resistance: fundamentals to innovations”.