GHC is saving lives in Ethiopia by providing early diagnosis and treatment for patients suffering from multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Untreated, MDR-TB is a deadly disease affecting impoverished people who cannot afford timely diagnosis and adequate treatment for this curable illness.The diagnosis of MDR-TB can take several months or even longer – often too late for the patient. At GHC's highly successful treatment program in Ethiopia, doctors see patients that have been waiting for years spreading disease and becoming pulmonary cripples. The PCR-based GeneXpert provides accurate diagnosis of MDR-TB within less than two hours.
Using the GeneXpert, GHC will rapidly test patients who have failed standard TB therapy, patients not responding to treatment for TB and contacts of patients with MDR-TB and will initiate these patients on appropriate therapy.
This project will focus on screening the most vulnerable people for MDR-TB, allowing early diagnosis of MDR-TB and will ultimately save many lives. People who screen negative avoid unnecessary treatment. GHC will expand its capacities in Ethiopia.
