Asian doctors seek wider, more proactive TB testing
Medical experts from Indonesia and Pakistan are advocating for more proactive tuberculosis testing and better access to diagnostic technology in low and middle-income countries. They argue that current global efforts are too reactive, focusing on treatment only after patients become symptomatic.
Why it matters
Addressing the disparity in diagnostic technology access is critical for meeting global health goals and reducing the burden of infectious diseases in developing nations.
Pakistani epidemiologist Raiza Fatima, Indonesian professor Erlina Burhan, virologist Sergio Carmona and Filipino public health expert Rugaiya Calapis speak at a panel discussion during the 2026 Asia-Pacific International Roche Infectious Diseases Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, July 9, 2026. - Photo by Jason Sigales/INQUIRER.net BANGKOK, Thailand - Doctors from Indonesia and Pakistan have called on nations to expand their testing capabilities for tuberculosis (TB) and make efforts to diagnose the disease more proactively, particularly for low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
"The new technologies, the new innovations are only found in big cities and in the rich countries where they do not have enough TB cases but they have all the technology," Universitas Indonesia respiratory medicine professor Erlina Burhan said at a panel during the Asia-Pacific International Roche Infectious Diseases Symposium (APAC-IRIDS) in Bangkok on Thursday.
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