Braja Sundar Barik, Shally Pandit, Sudatta Chandan, Tahziba Hussain*, Sasmita Nayak, Sanghamitra Pati
According to the World Health Organization, diagnosing and treating Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) is a crucial strategy for accelerating the worldwide TB epidemic's decline and achieving TB eradication. Several obstacles have impeded the implementation or expansion of LTBI treatment programs, even in low-TB burden nations that have attained high rates of identification and successful treatment for active TB. The existing diagnostic tests have a low predictive value and only a small percentage of TB infection cases progress to active disease. Due to the lengthy duration of therapy and uncomfortable side effects, isoniazid (INH) treatment for LTBI has a low completion rate. Patients and medical professionals frequently believe that the danger of toxicity is greater than the chance of TB reactivation. As a result, outside of nations with abundant resources and low illness burden, the role of LTBI treatment has been minimal or nonexistent. With the development of new technologies, it is now possible to diagnose LTBI more precisely, particularly in those who have received the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine. Rifamycin-based treatments that are shorter and better tolerated are proving to be secure and efficient substitutes for INH. Although yet insufficient, modeling studies in the United States show that TB prevention utilizing this novel diagnostic and treatment methods is cost-effective and has the potential to advance TB preventive efforts. To create improved tools, more study is required to comprehend the host-organism interactions that occur across the spectrum of LTBI. Latent TB research is a top priority in India towards TB eradication.
Published Date: 2025-01-08; Received Date: 2023-09-26
