The U.S. Senate passed a crucial bill on Wednesday that will triple funding for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. Backed by President Bush, the plan received a 80-to-16 vote to authorize $48 billion over the next five years.

The amount authorized is $18 billion more than what Bush had requested. It would replace and expand the current $15 billion program started by the President in 2003. That act expires at the end of September

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in diagnosing multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) by using a DNA-based test that takes just two days to yield results.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday said the rapid molecular diagnostic tool will be available over the next four years in more than a dozen countries

Some 22 multi-drug-resistant and extreme-drug-resistant TB patients in a South African hospital went on a rampage Wednesday to protest prison-like conditions.

The Jose Pearson TB hospital in Port Elizabeth has beefed up its security measures after the patients, 17 men and five women aged between 18 and 42, were arrested for throwing rocks at security guards and vandalising equipment. The patients were currently housed in an isolated facility in the hospital after they were returned by court and police on Thursday for fears of their highly infectious diseases

Two United Nations agencies have signed an agreement aimed at slashing costs of vaccines for Afghans and locals living in and around Pakistan's refugee settlements.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed the agreement here on Sunday, a U.N press statement said Monday. UNICEF will obtain vaccines on behalf of the UNHCR based on the current UNICEF supply catalogue and price list or other estimates provided by UNICEF - which are lower than what the other agency pays, according to the memorandum of understanding

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel on Wednesday recommended the psoriasis drug Enbrel to be approved for pediatric use with moderate-to-severe forms of the skin disease.

Seven panel members from the advisory committee voted in favor of recommending approval while five voted against and one abstained. The panel said the drug appears effective but expressed concerns about increased risks of malignancy and serious infections like tuberculosis