Mal Washer (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Ninety, as the member for Braddon said, to 100—compared to current tests that can take up to three months to provide results. The Xpert diagnostic tool is a fully automated nucleic acid amplification test for the early diagnosis of TB as well as multidrug-resistant TB and TB complicated by HIV infection, which are more difficult to diagnose. The system uses single-use disposable cartridges which are self-contained, eliminating cross-contamination between samples.

Many countries still rely principally on sputum smear microscopy, which was developed over a century ago. The company which has developed the new test, Cepheid, has granted a 75 per cent reduction in the price for countries most affected by TB, compared to the current market price. Preferential pricing will be given to 116 low- and middle-income countries where TB is endemic, with additional reduction in price once there is significant volume of demand. It is estimated the cost of each test in 2011 will be about $16.86 with 0.6 million tests conducted, but this will reduce to approximately $10.72 by 2014 when an estimated 3.7 million tests will be conducted.

I request the government to facilitate the adoption of Xpert in South-East Asia and call on its use as part of the Debt2Health agreement with Indonesia. Indonesia has the third-highest rate of tuberculosis in the world, with more than 90,000 Indonesians dying from the disease each year. Despite tuberculosis being preventable and curable, the disease is on the rise in Indonesia and many other developing countries. Debt2Health is the financing initiative of the global fund and is helping to channel resources of developing countries away from debt repayment towards investment in health. Under the current Debt2Health arrangements, Australia will cancel $75 million of Indonesia’s debt and, in return, Indonesia will invest half of this amount into national programs to combat tuberculosis through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

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