Description: Prevention of tuberculosis among people with diabetes
An estimated one quarter of the world’s population have latent tuberculosis infection, of whom 5-10% will go on to develop TB disease at some stage. Screening and preventive treatment of latent tuberculosis infection is considered essential for global TB control. Children who have been in contact with a highly infectious tuberculosis case, and people with HIV have already been targeted for preventive treatment of LTBI. Another such high-risk group is people with diabetes in tuberculosis-endemic countries.
We will perform the first randomized controlled trial globally to evaluate the efficacy and impact of preventive treatment of latent tuberculosis infection in people living with diabetes. We will randomize 3000 people with diabetes and latent tuberculosis in Tanzania and Uganda to a 12-week course of rifapentine and isoniazid preventive therapy or placebo, with cumulative incidence of tuberculosis disease over at least 24-months follow-up as primary endpoint.
"Globally, there are now an estimated 425 million people living with diabetes, but this number will increase significantly over the coming decades, especially in Sub-Saharan African countries such as Uganda and Tanzania."