24 Feb Delays and loss to follow-up before treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis following implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF in South Africa

South Africa diagnoses almost 20,000 patients with Rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis each year. A research team comprising Helen Cox (University of Cape Town), AIGHD researchers Anja van’t Hoog and Frank Cobelens, and other colleagues assessed the impact of the Xpert MTB/RIF test (a rapid test for tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance) in reducing delays in treatment initiation and loss to follow-up before second-line treatment for Rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis across South Africa. Read the full research article on PLOS Medicine.