Tuberculosis, Nov. 18 -- At the annual Union World Conference on Lung Health this week, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) released data from its operational research highlighting that using the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended treatment decision algorithms for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in children can nearly double the number of children who can be initiated on lifesaving treatment.

The WHO algorithms are guided scoring systems that allow physicians to put a child on TB treatment if their symptoms are strongly indicative of TB, even if laboratory tests are unavailable or test results appear negative. This is especially important in places without laboratories, which is the case in many of the places whe...