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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published its first ‘essential diagnostics list’, a catalogue of tests needed to diagnose the most common conditions as well as a number of global priority diseases.
The step was taken to address the problem of people’s inability to access diagnostic services, thus failing to receive the correct treatment.
Late diagnosis of infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis increases the risk of their spread and makes them more difficult to treat, it said.
The remaining 55 tests are designed for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of ‘priority’ diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis B and C, human papillomavirus and syphilis, the statement said.
Some of the tests are particularly suitable for primary health care facilities, where laboratory services are often poorly resourced and sometimes non-existent.
For each category of test, the Essential Diagnostics List specifies the type of test and intended use, format, and if appropriate for primary health care or for health facilities with laboratories. The list also provides links to WHO guidelines or publications and to pre-qualified products.
The WHO will update the essential diagnostics list on a regular basis. It is also expected to issue a call for applications to add categories to the next edition.
The list will expand significantly over the next few years, as it incorporates other important areas, including antimicrobial resistance, emerging pathogens, neglected tropical diseases and additional noncommunicable diseases, the statement added.
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Published: 17 May 2018,11:41 AM IST