By Antigone Barton on March 27, 2014 .
Dr. Raj Taneja, Senior Director Pharmaceutical Product Development, Global Alliance for TB Drug Development at briefing Wednesday.
Taneja was one of five speakers Wednesday at a Capitol Hill briefing examining progress as well as standstills in efforts to confront tuberculosis. Together, they told a story of how illness as well as responses around the world are interconnected, when effective treatments for the airborne disease are compromised by stagnant funding.
Caryn and Jake Kaufman tell of their experience after Jake was diagnosed with tuberculosis in fourth grade. The treatment he received caused hallucinations. "It was terrifying," Jake said.
Joining Taneja were film maker Jezza Newman, whose documentary TB Silent Killer aired Tuesday on Frontline. A clip from the film showed how the effects of toxic treatments for multidrug resistant tuberculosis continue to rival the devastation of the disease itself in Swaziland. In turn, California teenager Jake Kaufman and his mother Caryn Kaufman told of their first hand experience experience after Jake, at 10, contracted tuberculosis from his elementary school teacher, and learned their was no treatment for the disease appropriate for children. The treatment he received led to hallucinations, and was discontinued, leaving him and his mother, five years later, wondering if he is cured of the tuberculosis.
No age appropriate drugs for children exist yet, Taneja confirmed. He told how pill crushing and pill splitting lead to incomplete dosing for pediatric patients, while harrowing side effects and complicated regimens continue to challenge effective treatment. "Unforgivable," he added.
Also presenting at the briefing were USAID Infectious Diseases Division Chief Cheri Vincent, and National Tuberculosis Controllers Association President Dr. Jennifer Flood.
The briefing was co-sponsored by RESULTS, Aeras, TB Alliance, American Thoracic Society, PSI, Management Sciences for Health, National TB Controllers Association, and the IDSA Center for Global Health Policy, which produces this blog.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on March 27, 2014 .