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On September 26, Anvar Beisembayev,
co-ordinator of the TB Reach project under the National Centre for Tuberculosis
Research of Kyrgyzstan, said that Kyrgyz medics are using a new method that
allows for quicker diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB).
Previously, the standard test
entailed injecting PPD tuberculin and waiting for a skin reaction. The new
method is a blood test in which a person’s blood sample is mixed with an agent
to gauge reaction.
Comparing the methods, Beisembayev
notes that the new method enables diagnosis of TB within two hours; whereas,
the older method used to take three days.
The new method gained worldwide
application only last year. In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),
only Kyrgyzstan and Moldova are using this new method. Kyrgyzstan has installed
six devices nationwide: one in Osh city, one in Chui Oblast, two in Bishkek,
and two in prisons. He added that medics have used the devices to test 1,000
Kyrgyz and confirmed 115 TB cases.
According to the Republic Medical
Information Centre, Kyrgyzstan has registered 5,243 cases of TB so far in 2012.
There are high case numbers in Bishkek and in Chui and Talas oblasts [regions].
Gulmira Aitmurzayeva, director of the Republic Centre for Strengthening Health,
said that authorities have begun a public awareness campaign about TB in those
areas.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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