Woodley join the fight against TB by supporting World TB day 2011

March 24, 2011 - PRLog -- Woodley are offering their distributors a chance to combine superiority of the ParaLens Advance Fluorecence Microscopy System, with the clear advantages of the innovative F.A.S.T. TB stain, to create a synergy that is sure to increase performance in TB microscopy labs everywhere.

If you are a Woodley Lab Diagnostics/QBC Europe distributor, you can take advantage of these offers by emailing sales@qbceurope.com

QBC Fluorescence and Staining Technologies (F.A.S.T.)™ TB kits are designed to increase the speed and accuracy of TB staining and processing. F.A.S.T. TB kits are integral to achieving DOTS goals of 70% smear-positive case detection and meeting the objectives established by the Stop TB Strategy.

The WHO and The Stop TB Partnership have both recommended the implementation of fluorescence microscopy for TB diagnosis1. QBC F.A.S.T. TB kits can make that implementation easier and more effective.

With multiple power options available, the ParaLens Advance Fluorescence Microscopy System allows fluorescent capabilities in the most remote of areas, bringing the battle of TB direct to the patient. Simply attach the ParaLens Advance to any normal light microscope for exceptional fluorescent capabilities.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), here are some interesting facts about tuberculosis:

1. Tuberculosis is contagious and spreads through air. If not treated, each person with active TB can infect on average 10 to 15 people a year.

2 .More than two billion people, equal to one third of the world’s total population, are infected with TB bacilli, the microbes that cause TB. One in every 10 of those people will become sick with active TB in his or her lifetime. People living with HIV are at a much higher risk.

3. A total of 1.7 million people died from TB in 2009 (including 3, 80,000 people with HIV), equal to about 4,700 deaths a day. TB is a disease of poverty, affecting mostly young adults in their most productive years. The vast majority of TB deaths are in the developing world, with more than half occurring in Asia.

4. TB is a leading killer among people living with HIV, who have weakened immune systems.

5. There were 9.4 million new TB cases in 2009, of which 80% were in just 22 countries. Per capita, the global TB incidence rate is falling, but the rate of decline is very slow - less than 1%.

6. TB is a worldwide pandemic. Among the 15 countries with the highest estimated TB incidence rates, 13 are in Africa, while a third of all new cases are in India and China.

7. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a form of TB that does not respond to the standard treatments using first-line drugs. MDR-TB is present in virtually all countries surveyed by WHO and its partners.

8. There were an estimated 4, 40,000 new MDR-TB cases in 2008 with three countries accounting for over 50% of all cases globally - China, India and the Russian Federation. Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) occurs when resistance to second-line drugs develops. It is extremely difficult to treat and cases have been confirmed in more than 58 countries.

9. The world is on track to achieve two TB targets set for 2015:
a.Millennium Development Goal, which aims to halt and reverse global incidence (in comparison with 1990);
b.Stop TB Partnership target of halving deaths from TB (also in comparison with 1990).

10. Forty one million TB patients have been successfully treated in DOTS programmes and up to 6 million lives saved since 1995, 5 million more lives could be saved between now and 2015 by fully funding and implementing The Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015.

For more information please visit www.woodleyequipment.com/laboratory-diagnostics

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