Welcome to the website of the New Diagnostics Working Group
The New Diagnostics Working Group is a one of the seven Working Groups of the Stop TB Partnership. It aims at supporting the Partnership in its goal of elimination of TB, in particular by promoting the development and adoption of new diagnostic tools.
The New Diagnostics Working Group is a network of experts representing stakeholders from academia, government, industry, NGOs and the patient community.
News
The Cochrane Library publishes new systematic review on Xpert MTB/RIF
Xpert® MTB/RIF can accurately and quickly detect both TB and drug-resistant strains, according to a new study. The authors of a new systematic review assessing the diagnostic accuracy of the Xpert test published in The Cochrane Library say their study can provide timely advice for clinicians and policymakers in countries where TB is a major public health problem.
The researchers, from the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group, McGill University and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), analysed data from 18 studies involving nearly 8,000 people, with most studies being carried out in low- and middle-income countries.
Read full press release
Download systematic review
NDWG Annual Meeting 2012
The New Diagnostics Working Group held its Annual Meeting 2012 in conjunction with the 43rd Union World Conference on Tuesday, 13 November 2012, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
WHO launches Global Tuberculosis Report 2012
20 million lives saved through TB care and control
In the space of 17 years, 51 million people have been successfully treated and 20 million lives could be saved. The achievements have been secured by leadership in endemic countries and international support, but today WHO warned that the global fight against the disease remains fragile. "The momentum to break this disease is in real danger. We are now at a crossroads between TB elimination within our lifetime, and millions more TB deaths," said Dr Raviglione.
Key findings show:
- a continued decline in the number of people falling ill from TB, but still an enormous global burden of 8.7 million new cases in 2011;
- an estimated 1.4 million deaths from TB, including half a million women, underlining the disease as one of the world’s top killers of women;
- reduced rates of new disease and deaths in all of WHO’s six regions, although the African and European Regions are not yet on track to achieve goals to halve 1990 levels of mortality by 2015;
- a persistently slow progress in the MDR-TB response, with only 1 in 5 patients estimated to exist being diagnosed worldwide.
he report also highlights important advances in TB diagnosis but notes a US$ 1.4 billion funding gap per year for research and development of new tools.
Click here to download the report
Buy-down agreement to reduce cost of Xpert MTB/RIF cartridges by 40% for high-burden countries
In a drive to expand adoption of the Xpert® MTB/RIF test, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNITAID recently announced their agreement to significantly reduce the cost of this rapid TB diagnostic tool in 145 high-burden countries. This agreement will fund the buy-down of the Xpert MTB/RIF cartridges from $16.86 to $9.98, effective as of 6 August 2012.
TB REACH launches call for proposals for Wave 3
For Wave 3, TB REACH will have two separate funding tracks:
1. General Wave 3 Track: This funding track is open to applicants from 86 eligible countries and is for one-year projects to improve TB case finding for up to $US 1 million.
2. UNITAID Xpert Track: This funding track is open to applicants in 19 countries who wish to implement Xpert MTB/RIF scale up interventions using innovative approaches. Grants under this funding track are for two years and for up to $US 1 million. Proposals should focus on rolling out Xpert MTB/RIF technology to improve case finding.
Click here for details and key information, including eligibility criteria, examples of suitable interventions, technical guidance, application form and instructions for applicants.
Deadline for applications: 17 September 2012
Bringing the Lab to the Patient: Developing Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Resource Limited Settings
The American Academy of Microbiology recently released "Bringing the Lab to the Patient: Developing Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Resource Limited Settings." The report is based on a colloquium convened in September 2011, where a diverse group of experts discussed how to develop POCTs that can be effectively integrated into resource limited settings and which tests are needed most urgently. Participants made recommendations on test features to increase effectiveness in the field and on how collaborations between communities could foster a favorable environment for new POCTs development and implementation.
TB Diagnostic Technology Landscape
UNITAID recently published the "TB Diagnostic Technology Landscape", a report that reviews existing TB diagnostics, highlights areas of potential improvement and describes the pipeline of expected future methods and tools.
