Scientists Discover Cure for Deadliest Strain of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

On Wednesday’s the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endorsed a three-drug regimen that registered a success rate of 90 per cent in just months against tuberculosis most deadly strain.

As the leading infectious cause of death worldwide, tuberculosis has surpassed AIDS and of the 10 million TB-infected individuals every year, few survive the antibiotic-resistant XDR strain. The majority die before they even receive a diagnosis, and among those who get typical treatment, the cure rate is only 34 per cent.

The new medication requires patients to take five pills a day for six months, rather than the typical treatment of up to 40 daily pills, taken for up to two years.

According to the New York Times, other countries rely on even older regimens that include daily injections of antibiotics that can have devastating side effects, including deafness, kidney failure and psychosis.

It is now up to the World Health Organization to adopt the approvals made by the F.D.A. or its European counterpart, to allow for the new therapy to become available worldwide.