Original articles

Tuberculosis research in South Africa over the past 30 years: From bench to bedside

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R Warren, N Ismail, N N Chegou, G Theron, G Walzl, S T Malherbe, C J Kinnear, G D van der Spuy, W Goosen, M A Miller, A H Diacon, P D van Helden

Abstract


The South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research has a rich history of high-impact research that has influenced our understating of this hyper-epidemic which is further exacerbated by the emergence and spread of drug-resistant forms of the disease. This review aims to summarise the past 30 years of research conducted in the Centre which has influenced the way that tuberculosis (TB) is diagnosed and treated. The review includes the development of new technologies for rapid screening of people with probable TB and the repurposing of human diagnostics for wildlife conservation.


Authors' affiliations

R Warren, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

N Ismail, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

N N Chegou, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

G Theron, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

G Walzl, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

S T Malherbe, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

C J Kinnear, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

G D van der Spuy, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

W Goosen, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

M A Miller, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

A H Diacon, TASK Applied Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa

P D van Helden, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research/DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

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Cite this article

South African Medical Journal 2019;109(11b):45-52. DOI:10.7196/SAMJ.2019.v109i11b.14249

Article History

Date submitted: 2019-12-05
Date published: 2019-12-05

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