Virtually untreatable TB spreading, warns WHO

A VIRTUALLY untreatable form of tuberculosis (TB) may be already present in Ireland, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said yesterday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that deadly new strains of TB that are “virtually untreatable” using drugs that are currently available, appear to be spreading across the world.

The new strains are known as extreme drug-resistant TB or XDR TB and have been identified in a number of countries including the United States, Africa and eastern Europe.