I Can Do Things, Too.

This is terrifying… and it’s the reason I’m headed as far away from the rest of you humans as possible. Feel free to come visit.

doctorswithoutborders:

Photo: MSF doctor Christoph Hoehn and nurse Gulru Nobodieva examine a nine-month old baby in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. sTajikistan 2013 © Christoph Hoehn/MSF

Tajikistan: MSF Treats its Youngest-Ever Patient with Multidrug-Resistant TB

“Shirinmo is not the youngest child we have seen with tuberculosis, but she is the youngest patient we have diagnosed with MDR-TB,” says Dr. Christoph Hoehn of MSF, which opened its children’s MDR-TB project in Tajikistan in late 2011. “Babies have a high risk of developing these diseases because their immune system hasn’t fully matured,” he says.

MSF has started formulating MDR-TB drugs specifically for children at a pharmacy in Dushanbe. Until now, there were no MDR-TB formulations on the market for children, who had to take drugs produced for adults—usually large, hard-to-swallow pills with a very unpleasant taste. MSF staff created a child-friendly syrup by dissolving the drugs in a flavored liquid, which is measured into appropriate doses for babies and adolescents. Tajikistan is the first MSF project where this formulation is being used to treat young patients, including Shirinmo.

Posted at 12:28pm.