Thanks to the efforts of hospital staff and the training and resources provided as part of the STREAM Stage 2 trial, South Africa’s Empilweni TB Hospital in the Eastern Cape recently enrolled its first patient with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Empilweni Hospital is the fourth and most recent site to join the trial in South Africa, where there were an estimated 19,000[1] incident cases of MDR-TB in 2016. This decentralized facility accepts referrals for drug-resistant TB and is able to provide in-patient treatment of MDR-TB. STREAM Stage 2 is the first time Empilweni Hospital has participated in a clinical trial, which represents an important milestone for both the hospital and the community.


Empilweni hospital and STREAM trial staff participate in capacity building training

As part of the STREAM trial, the Empilweni Hospital will contribute to the evaluation of shorter, more tolerable drug regimens, while also benefitting from essential capacity building for clinical trial research. To date, capacity building has focused on study procedures and referral pathways, as well as the process for obtaining informed consent. The STREAM Stage 2 trial is a welcome response to the urgent need for improved TB management in this region, where MDR-TB is common.

Read more about the STREAM Stage 2 trial at www.treattb.org/overview.

[1] Estimated incidence of MDR/RR in 2016 was 19,000 as per the Global TB Report Page 45.