By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 03.02.21 (SciDev.Net): A new three-drug, all-oral, six-month treatment is providing hope to patients in Tajikistan with highly drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis, which until now had limited treatment options and a poor prognosis.

Tajikistan is the first country in Central Asia and second in the world after Ukraine to provide patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) access to the novel BPaL regimen treatment under operational research conditions from December 2020. The regimen consists of three drugs –  bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid.

“The BPaL regimen offers the shortest possible treatment course for XDR-TB patients, excludes injectable drugs, it’s easy to use and more affordable. Conventional treatment regimen for patients with XDR-TB consists of 7- 8 antibiotics for a minimum of 18 months, including any of the injectable drugs, which not every patient can tolerate”, says Veriko Mirtskhulava, senior epidemiologist at KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, an international NGO devoted to eliminating TB.

The BPaL regimen, developed by the non-profit organisation TB Alliance, is being implemented in Tajikistan by the National Tuberculosis Program with support from KNCV.

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