BD Supports Effort to Expand Access to Tuberculosis Screening Across South
Africa

JOHANNESBURG () – BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, is supporting efforts to provide access to tuberculosis (TB) screening services to South Africans.

BD is one of 3 suppliers that have been selected to support the SA National TB molecular testing program with BD placing more than a hundred BD molecular diagnostic testing systems across 75 laboratories.

“This vital initiative aligns with BD’s commitment to help advance equity in health care and enable accessible, affordable and relevant laboratory services,” said Davide Visentin, vice president, BD Integrated Diagnostic Solutions, Europe/Middle East/Africa. “TB affects hundreds of thousands of South Africans and increasing awareness and reducing stigma help encourage individuals to go for screening. By acting with certainty and speed to identify cases and secure a diagnosis, we can start treatment early to help prevent further spread of TB and reduce the potential for more severe, treatment-resistant forms of the disease.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 25% of all TB cases worldwide were in the Africa region.ⁱ In 2021, close to 304,000 people in South Africa developed TB, bringing the country's incidence rate to one of the highest in the world.[i]ⁱ  South Africa is among the 14 countries with the highest burden of TB/HIV and multi-drug resistant TB.[ii] The country’s TB epidemic is driven by a number of factors including low socio-economic status and a high HIV coinfection burden.ⁱⁱⁱ

“BD has a long history in TB diagnostics, having launched the first automated mycobacterial detection system for comprehensive testing for TB, drug susceptibility and monitoring patients' response to treatment,” said Nikos Pavlidis, Worldwide President of Diagnostics Solutions at BD. “The addition of our fully automated molecular solution and complemented by BD’s multi-drug resistant tuberculosis assay enables rapid tests for TB and multidrug resistance. We are confident that our TB testing solutions will help alleviate the high burden of TB in South Africa.”

The molecular diagnostic testing system is a fully integrated and features an automated platform that performs nucleic acid extraction and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to provide results for up to 24 samples across multiple syndromes in less than four hours. The assay can detect TB and Multi Drug Resistant (MDR)-TB, helping to improve the treatment choices and patient management.

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About BD

BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics, and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 77,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety, and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/ and Twitter @BDandCo.

[i] World Health Organization, www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme/tb-reports/global-tuberculosis-report-2022/tb-disease-burden/2-1-tb-incidence. Accessed 26 May 2023.

[i]i Strengthening the link between people diagnosed with TB and treatment initiation. (2023, March 24). NICD. https://www.nicd.ac.za/strengthening-the-link-between-people-diagnosed-with-tb-and-treatment-initiation/ Accessed 26 May 2023

[ii]ⁱNICD, The First National TB Prevalence Survey | South Africa 2018, Accessed from: hrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.nicd.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TB-Prevalence-survey-report_A4_SA_TPS-Short_Feb-2021.pdf, [Accessed 26 May 2023]