New TB meds approved
Sirturo (bedaquiline) has been approved by the FDA as part of combination therapy for adults with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis when other alternatives are not possible. This is the first TB medication to be approved in four decades, the FDA informed.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that Sirturo has been approved for use with older medications for a very hard-to-treat TB strain that has not responded properly to other drugs. The agency added that Sirturo should be prescribed with caution because it carried risks of potentially lethal heart problems.
Multi-resistant tuberculosis is a form of TB that does not respond to isonazid and rifampin - two of the four main antibiotics prescribed for the disease. Sirturo (bedaquiline) is designed specifically for treating multidrug-resistant TB.
Tuberculosis is an infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Experts say it is one of the deadliest diseases. Humans spread TB through the air. It usually affects the lungs, but may also affect the brain, kidneys and other parts of the body.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that in 2011, nearly nine million people worldwide became sick with TB, including 10,528 in the USA.
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