The World Health Organization warns that poor diagnosis is to blame for the global risk of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
About half a million people contracted dangerous strains of TB in 2012, but only one in four people were actually diagnosed, researchers said.
About 9 million people who contract TB do not receive treatment, according to WHO. The organization advertises the bacterial infection as a "global health security risk" because lack of treatment leads to drug resistance, which in turn makes the disease incurable, known as total drug-resistant TB.
"Earlier and faster diagnosis of all forms of TB is vital," WHO Director General Margaret Chan told Reuters. "It improves the chances of people getting the right treatment and being cured, and it helps stop spread of drug-resistant disease."
Regular TB treatment is an arduous process involving six months of lots of antibiotics. However, health officials note, we have only ourselves to blame for the global drug-resistance problem given that people sick with regular TB were either given the wrong medicines or wrong doses or did not complete their treatment.
Traditional diagnostic tests may yield results after two months, creating a large gap of time for the infected patient to pass on the contagious disease. WHO predicts drug-resistant TB will infect up to 2 million people worldwide by 2015.
An international project known as EXPAND-TB (Expanding Access to New Diagnostics for TB), financed by UNITAID, aims to bring more testing and treatment to afflicted patients. So far they have successfully tripled the number of MDR-TB cases diagnosed in participating countries.
"The gap in access to TB diagnostics and care is far from filled, but it is narrowing," said Mario Raviglione, director of WHO's global TB program. "Increased capacity and reduced prices mean that we can reach more people."
