Researchers have found that a widely available oral antibiotic long used to treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia substantially reduced the risk of children and adults developing drug-resistant tuberculosis.
In a phase 3 clinical trial in South Africa, called TB-CHAMP, only five of 453 children who had been exposed to an adult with multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR-TB, and were given the antibiotic drug levofloxacin developed MDR-TB, compared to 12 in the placebo group that included 469 children. Ninety percent of the children in the study were below 5 years old. Children of this age are at higher risk of developing TB and its severe forms as they have weaker immune systems and are therefore more susceptible to the disease.
A separate Phase 3 clinical trial in Vietnam, called the V-QUIN trial, that involved over 2,000 children and adults, meanwhile, found 45% fewer cases of MDR-TB in the group that received levofloxacin versus the placebo.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
