The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) demanded today to the World Health Organization (WHO) to include TB in the first-ever Global priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to guide research, discovery, and development of new antibiotics, published on 27 February 2017.

This is in response to the WHO statement that tuberculosis (TB) has not been included in the list.  

"The Union demands TB be included in the WHO lists of bacteria for which new antibiotics are urgently needed. Drug-resistant TB is a leading cause of sickness and death.  Not including TB on this list is contrary to the available data and undermines efforts to find new and better treatments desperately needed by patients.  This is particularly important for countries where drug-resistant TB has reached epidemic proportions".

Read full letter signed by José Luis Castro, Executive Director, The Union, and Chair of the NCD Alliance, to Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, via the link below.