Ingrid Burkhardt is a clinical research fellow in paediatric infectious diseases at the University of Bern, Switzerland. She has a special interest in paediatric drug-resistant tuberculosis and as part of her research conducted a collaborative project with the University of Namibia and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Programme of Namibia.
Whilst the proportion of children with unfavourable outcome and death are in keeping with internationally observed levels, both did not decrease over the study period despite the introduction of Xpert MTB/RIF in 2017 and new oral treatment regimens. Other factors along the paediatric MDR-TB care cascade potentially limiting the benefits of a rapid diagnosis of MDR-TB and newer treatment regimens should be assessed.
Source: Conference 2024