Deadly New Strain of TB May Require Quarantines

Stephen Leahy

Jan 22 (IPS) – Enforced quarantines may be needed in South Africa and elsewhere to bring a deadly, contagious and drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis under control, health experts say.

An outbreak of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province gained the attention of the World Health Organisation last year. Hundreds have been infected and the fatality rate is extremely high.

“The problem is a lot bigger than we know,” said Jerome Amir Singh, an HIV/AIDS expert at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.
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