Soros Joins Drug-Resistant TB Fight

Billionaire financier George Soros is taking on the dual epidemics of tuberculosis and AIDS, he announced Wednesday.

In coalition with non-governmental organizations, Soros is funding an effort to develop new treatment for people with drug-resistant tuberculosis and AIDS — a particularly lethal combination in poor countries where a single outbreak can kill virtually all those infected within days.

Right now, the combination is considered a death sentence, but it doesn’t have to be, Soros told reporters during a conference call.

The group’s first undertaking will be a $3 million project in the African country of Lesotho to help health workers there tackle the dual diseases, which threaten to undo the anti-AIDS work of the past decade.

Based on the knowledge gained there, coalition members Partners In Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital will pioneer development of the first global treatment guidelines for this deadly disease combination.

The new partnership, however, is a small part of what will be needed to curb the threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis, Soros said, and wealthy governments will need to contribute much more.

The World Health Organization recently called for $650 million to combat drug-resistant tuberculosis.