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South Africa: The Key to Treating TB May Be in a Common Carbohydrate. What We Know So Far
The Conversation Africa, 16 August 2022
Curdlan is a popular carbohydrate in the food industry. Its name is derived from the word "curdle", and as it suggests, it's widely used as a thickener and stabiliser in everything… Read more »
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Africa: African Solutions to African Problems - Reframing Science Innovation
IPS, 8 June 2022
Africa is plagued by many epidemics -- from tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS to malaria and wild polio -- but the continent has also worked for decades to fight these threats. The key to… Read more »
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Africa: Are Oral Swabs the Future of TB Testing?
spotlight, 18 May 2022
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that every year 40% of people who fall ill with tuberculosis (TB) globally are not diagnosed. There is thus an urgent need for faster,… Read more »
A Common Carbohydrate May Hold Key to TB Treatment
Curdlan is a popular carbohydrate in the food industry. Its name is derived from the word "curdle", and as it suggests, it's widely used as a thickener and stabiliser in everything from sausages to milk substitutes.
More recently, it has caught the eye of the pharmaceutical industry, writes Admire Dube for The Conversation. That's because curdlan, itself produced by bacteria, is able to trigger an antibacterial response in a range of environments and organisms. Among other uses, researchers are looking at curdlan as a possible treatment for cancers and other diseases.
One of those diseases is tuberculosis (TB), the infection responsible for killing more people than any other infectious disease in human history. South Africa has one of the world's highest TB burdens - along with 29 other countries including India and China. These countries contribute 86% of the globe's 10 million annual TB cases.
InFocus
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The Stop TB Partnership has launched a detailed strategy to finally put an end to the world's oldest pandemic. It also lays out how, from now up to 2030, a globa Read more »
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On March 24, as the world commemorates World Tuberculosis Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is caling for an urgent investment of resources, support, care and informat Read more »
Tuberculosis researchers working in a Biosafety Level 3 Lab at the University of Cape Town in 2017.
