USAID provides testing equipment to Vietnam to help speed diagnoses of drug-resistant TB

USAID on Monday said it has "delivered the first two of 17 planned laboratory devices" to help quickly diagnose drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB), VOA's "Breaking News" blog reports. "It says the machines allow for technicians to diagnose multi-drug resistant tuberculosis within as little as two hours, instead of the previous time requirement of several months," the blog writes. The "new lab devices, along with 12,000 testing cartridges, will be given to tuberculosis hospitals and clinics in more than 10 Vietnamese provinces," according to the news service (2/6).