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07 January 2018
Photo Charl Devenish
The work of Dr Anneke van der Spoel van Dijk investigates the spread of TB in the Free State population using techniques such as next generation sequencing, spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR typing. Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk, a senior medical scientist in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of the Free State (UFS) also looks at drug resistance in her research. This work informs decisions about how best to treat patients with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).
She employs rapid molecular techniques to track one of Africa’s most serious diseases, tuberculosis (TB).
Drug resistance
Scientists assist the National Health Laboratory Service and Department of Health in trying to refine the diagnostic tools to identify these cases earlier. Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk explains: “Until recently, it took up to two years to fine-tune treatment decisions for patients with MDR-TB. Patients get a cocktail of anti-TB drugs, but it takes time to find the right combination. Re-infection and relapse (patients stopping treatment for several reasons) add to the diagnostic and treatment management challenges.
Enormous impact
“Now doctors can reduce the time needed for diagnostic certainty to about seven days, while new drugs allow reduction of treatment from more than 18 to nine months. This can have an enormous impact on the life of many patients.”
Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk’s work forms part of research in the faculty looking at resistance development in TB strains. She is currently also doing her doctoral thesis on the differences and incidence of MDR-TB among adolescents versus adults. Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk says: “It is a complicated picture, but we hope to unravel it to support better diagnostic tools and patient care.”
As part of the National Health Laboratory Service, her department is playing an important role in TB diagnostics and the training of scientists and future pathologists. “Our work is contributing to the global vision to stop TB by 2035,” Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk says.
Academic Reboot Pack 2.0: aid to successfully complete 2016 academic year
2016-10-28
The University of the Free State (UFS) is committed to completing the academic year in the interest of our students who want to complete their studies, as well as the country which desperately needs graduates to grow the economy.
The UFS has developed a strategy to rescue the academic year, which will allow students to continue with their learning and achieve outstanding assessments (assignments, tests, and exams), whether they are on or off campus.
As part of this strategy, the UFS has developed the Academic Reboot Pack 1 and now Academic Reboot Pack 2.0. The aim of Reboot Pack 2.0 is aimed at providing students with practical steps on how to:
- Get information on what they need to do,
- Access online material – and where appropriate – printed material in the most cost-effective way,
- Prepare effectively for academic assessments (tests, assignments, and exams),
- Manage their time,
- Manage stress and where they can get support.
Academic Reboot Pack 2.0
Academic Reboot Pack 1.0
If students have any question or queries regarding the Academic Reboot Pack, they can send an email to: advising@ufs.ac.za
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Achieve academic goals with an online presence