LAUSR

Abstract Introduction Many critical dilemmas currently face global authorities in TB control. This article highlights one of the most challenging which is drug-resistance. MDR-TB is estimated to account for at least one third of all deaths associated with anti-microbial resistance, but remains largely undiagnosed and untreated, particularly in countries with inadequate health infrastructures which also have a high prevalence of latent infection. This article considers the growing primary evidence that a Traditional Japanese Moxibustion (TJM) technique with known immunomodulatory effects may help significantly improve treatment outcomes with MDR-TB. Methods Data from three recent primary research programs in resource-limited environments (in Uganda and the DPRK) are discussed and evaluated in terms of outcomes, as well as in respect of the therapy’s low-cost and low-tech nature. Results These data suggest that the therapy may be helpful in developing countries in reducing infectivity in TB cases (including those co-infected with HIV) as well as in accelerating recoveries, and significantly enhancing recoveries in MDR-TB cases. They also suggest that TJM may also prevent the emergence of MDR-TB from latent infection. Conclusion There is an urgent need for better understanding of these effects. A model for further investigation of moxa treatment for MDR-TB is presented. This could generate further data that might be used by WHO and Member States, potentially enabling them to integrate TJM into their TB treatment programmes, thereby benefitting large numbers of vulnerable patients at very little extra cost.