Jean Claude Semuto
Rwanda Biomedical Center, Rwanda
Title: Shortening time to initiate MDR-TB treatment as a strong programmatic control approach: Decline in MDR-TB prevalence, Rwanda history
Biography
Biography: Jean Claude Semuto
Abstract
Statement of the problem: The first cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Rwanda were diagnosed in 1991, while the programmatic management of MDR-TB (including initiation of standardized MDR-TB regimen) started 15 years later (2006). The prevalence of MDR-TB among new TB patients rose from 1.3% in 1993 to 3.9% in 2005. To shorten delays in initiating MDR-TB treatment, subsequent approaches were employed including initiating rapid molecular tools such as MTBDRplus and Xpert MTB/RIF test. Encouragingly, the latest drug resistance survey in 2015 revealed a significant decline in the prevalence of MDR-TB among new tuberculosis patients. We analyzed the delays in initiating MDR-TB treatment and assessed the mortality rate before and after implementing rapid molecular tools.