Development Ratings

Easing the developmental cost: TB causes more deaths among women than all causes of maternal mortality combined (Source: Stop TB). In India, over 67% of TB patient households went into debt. Estimated average lost wages and debt is ~£115/TB patient. Worldwide, this means there is an economic cost to individuals of over £1bn/year before healthcare costs and the financial effects of children’s lost schooling, etc. Target TB’s treated TB sufferers have been saved up to £1.4m in lost wages in 2008. £21.5m of lost income may have been avoided by preventing transmission to others.

Improving access to diagnosis/treatment to reduce incidence: Health workers trained to identify symptoms increases the chance of detecting TB by up to 30 percentage points. Earlier diagnosis means earlier treatment. Untreated TB sufferers can infect up to 15 people/year. The more prompt the diagnosis/treatment, the lower the transmission and incidence of TB. £40 spent to identify 1 patient could save up to £600 in costs to identify 15 more. Ultimately, this process could lead to eradication.

Ensuring treatment cost-effectiveness: Use of the DOTS recording protocol reduces the likelihood of drug resistance. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB has developed as a result of early stopping of treatment. MDR TB requires taking more expensive drugs (£6,000 or more) for longer (up to 2 years), increasing the risk and cost of halting treatment of ‘ordinary’ TB early. The emergence of an extensively drug resistant strain (XDR TB) was announced in 2006. Low cure-rate treatment for XDR TB can cost a totally uneconomic £500,000/patient.

Reducing opportunistic AIDS infections: TB is the leading cause of death for people who are HIV+, accounting for one third of AIDS deaths worldwide (Source: WHO). The worldwide eradication of TB is paramount in the fight against the additional costs of AIDS on development.