Latest update March 24th, 2025 7:05 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

WHO calls for ban on ‘unreliable’ TB blood tests

Jul 21, 2011 News

Geneva (AFP) – The World Health Organisation warned, on Wednesday, that millions of blood tests conducted every year to diagnose tuberculosis are unreliable and putting patients’ lives in danger.
“Based on the evidence, (these) tests lead to misdiagnosis and mistreatment of patients. They are a waste of time and resources,” Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO Stop TB Department, told reporters.
“We are calling on governments to ban the use of these tests.”
An estimated two million such diagnostics, which look for antibodies or antigens in the blood, are used every year, and up to half of them could give false results, Karin Weyer, who works for the same department, said.
She warned that companies which continued to sell these diagnostic tools would be knowingly selling a faulty product.
“This is now a matter of public record,” she said, adding however that the WHO did not know how many deaths resulted from these unreliable tests, which started being released in the 1990s.
They are mostly manufactured by companies based in the developed world, including Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States, but also in emerging giants China and India.
A list of companies pinpointed by the WHO includes US-based Mossman Associates, French group Anda Biologicals and British firm Omega Diagnostics.
“They cost the poor and vulnerable US$10 to US$30. And yet more often than not, the results are wrong,” Raviglione said.
Other types of diagnostics, which cost between US$16 and US$28 give more reliable results, Raviglione said. One of the reasons these tests are in the market is because of lack of regulations, Weyer explained.
“It’s a multi-million dollar business centered on selling substandard tests with unreliable results.
“The market for these products is not in Europe or the US, but in developing countries.
“These companies just ship (the tests) to developing countries with weak or no regulatory framework,” concluded Weyer.
According to the WHO website, there are some 9.4 million new cases of active TB and 1.7 million people who are killed by the transmissible disease every year.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Waramuri stuns Vreed-en-Hoop 7-1, as Bush Lot topple Ann’s Grove

Waramuri stuns Vreed-en-Hoop 7-1, as Bush Lot topple Ann’s Grove

Mar 24, 2025

-Milo/Massy U18 Football C/ship Round II Kaieteur Sports- The Petra Organisation wrapped up the second round of the 2025 Milo/Massy Under-18 Boys’ Football Championship yesterday at the Ministry of...
Read More
NSC, Office of the DPP host meeting on Criminal Law and Sexual Offences Act

NSC, Office of the DPP host meeting on Criminal...

Mar 24, 2025

Hetmyer’s Blazing Knock in Vain as Sunrisers Sink Royals in Run-Fest

Hetmyer’s Blazing Knock in Vain as...

Mar 24, 2025

GOA and Paraguayan Olympic Committee sign historic Memorandum of Understanding

GOA and Paraguayan Olympic Committee sign...

Mar 24, 2025

Archery Guyana commends Chung’s outstanding performance

Archery Guyana commends Chung’s outstanding...

Mar 24, 2025

Reliance Hustlers delighted for Youth Programme support from First Lady

Reliance Hustlers delighted for Youth Programme...

Mar 23, 2025

Features/Columnists

  • Development for whom?

    Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The Vice President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, has declared with great confidence that there... more

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]