CNS Stop-Tuberculosis (TB) Initiative

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 2 - 8 September 2011

2011-09-09T15:09:00.000+05:30

1- Living With HIV And Dying Of TB

(Source: Citizen News Service, India/Thailand)

Fuelled by the HIV pandemic and the spread of drug-resistant strains, tuberculosis (TB) has re-emerged as a major threat to global health. TB is a curable disease that continues to affect millions of people globally each year, and is a leading cause of death in HIV positive people. Read more

2- WHO, international pharma body tie up to tackle tuberculosis

(Source: The Hindu Business Line, Hyderabad, India)

The World Health Organisation, in a landmark initiative to curb the current tuberculosis epidemic, has signed up with The International Pharmaceutical Federation on the role of pharmacists in tuberculosis care and control. Read more

3- Tuberculosis relative could be new vaccine

(Source: BBC News, UK)

Experiments on mice showed the injections could completely eliminate tuberculosis bacteria in some cases, Nature Medicine reports. Read more

4- Orissa Health secretary inaugurates Virology Lab, Tb Culture Facility in RMRC

(Source: Orissa Dairy, Orissa, India)

Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) a premier institute of ICMR, Dept. of Health Research, Govt. of India has established two new advance laboratories; i) Grade -I virology and ii) T.B culture and Drug Sensitivity Testing lab in its main building at Bhubaneswar. On the eve of centenary year celebration (1911-2011) of the Council (ICMR), the opening ceremony of these labs was held at RMRC Auditorium. Read more

5- 90-minute TB test not a game changer for India

(Source: Indo Asian News Service, News Delhi, India)

A new diagnostic technique that detects tuberculosis in 90 minutes instead of three months using the conventional method may not be effective in India as the heat and humidity would affect the equipment, experts said. Read more

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Watch these dates!
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France

23-25 February 2012: 16th Conference of The Union North America Region, Texas, USA

27-30 March 2012: 27th Conference of The Union Middle-East Region, Cairo, Egypt
4 - 6 July 2012: 6th Conference of The Union Europe Region, London, United Kingdom

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health and Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Action Group (Kenya), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 18- 25 July 2011

2011-07-25T10:51:00.000+05:30

1- WHO warns against the use of inaccurate blood tests for active tuberculosis

(Source: Citizen News Service, India/Thailand)

The use of currently available commercial blood (serological) tests to diagnose active tuberculosis often leads to misdiagnosis, mistreatment and potential harm to public health, says the World Health Organization (WHO) in a policy recommendation issued earlier this week. Read more

2- New TB Vaccines: A matter of political will

(Source: Citizen News Service, India/Thailand)

TB vaccine research is moving forward steadily. In their 2010 annual report, the TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI) looks back at a scientifically successful year. Researchers within TBVI’s network are progressing towards new, safer and more effective tuberculosis vaccines. However, in order to successfully deliver these live-saving vaccines to the market, both political support and innovative investment are crucial. Read more

3- New TB Vaccines: A Reality In The Next Decade

(Source: Citizen News Service, India/Thailand)

Often thought to be a disease of the past, tuberculosis still kills around 1.7 million people per year. Worldwide, more than 9 million people become infected every year. Although TB mostly affects poor people in developing countries, it is prevalent in all continents, especially in Asia, Africa and Europe. Read more

4- TB tests done at private clinics ‘not accurate’

(Source: Daily Nation News, Kenya)

One in every two Kenyans going for a tuberculosis test at private clinics is most likely getting false results due to the use of substandard kits. Kenya is among 16 countries which use blood test for TB diagnosis — an option that has long been opposed by the World Health Organisation for its “unacceptable level of wrong results". Read more

5- TB: DOTS Plus programme soon in 11 districts

(Source: IBN Live News, Orissa, India)

To take the fight against multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) a notch ahead, the State Government announced that the DOTS Plus programme would be extended to 11 more districts soon. Read more

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Watch these dates!
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France

23-25 February 2012: 16th Conference of The Union North America Region, Texas, USA

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 29 June - 5 July 2011

2011-07-06T11:57:00.000+05:30

1- [Publications] Access,Accountability and Rights: Your Voices,Your Views on the Global Fund

(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand)

As part of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) Partnership Forum consultations, nine Key Correspondents (KCs) from seven countries captured voices from the field in local contexts and produced articles and videos on specific themes. Read more

2- [Publications] 2011 Global Fund Partnership Forum e-Consultations: Adding Your Voice to the Global Fund's 2012-2016 Strategy
(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand)
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) supported a consultative process through online thematic consultations, survey and in-country interviews among other mechanisms, in lead up to the Partnership Forum 2011. Read more

3- Pakistan ranks 6th among high TB burden countries
(Source: Pak Observer, Pakistan)
Pakistan ranks 6th globally among the 22 high tuberculosis burden countries, and contributes 43% of the disease towards the Eastern-Mediterranean region of World Health Organization (WHO). According to available data, the incidence of TB per 100,000 population in Pakistan is 181, case notification per 100,000 per year is 150 while the treatment success rate is 85%. Read more

4- Tijuana’s Success In Tuberculosis Treatment Benefits San Diego

(Source: KPBS News, Mexico)
Tijuana’s state-of-the-art lab opened in 2006, with funding from the Mexican government as well as $400,000 from USAID for construction and testing equipment. Today, Tijuana has the most success in the treatment of drug-resistant TB in Mexico, seeing an average of 700 new cases a year. Read more

5- UAB professor taking lead in global effort against drug-resistant TB, HIV

(Source: UAB News, Africa)
In the African nation where the first extensively drug-resistant case of tuberculosis (XDR-TB) was found a few years ago, the doors soon will open on a new TB research facility. University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Adrie Steyn, Ph.D., is the first scientist recruited to work at the facility. Steyn, associate professor in the UAB Department of Microbiology, is the first investigator for the new KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (K-RITH) in Durban, South Africa, a collaboration between the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Read more
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Watch these dates!
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France
8-11 July: 3rd Asia-Pacific Regional Union Conference on Lung Health, Hong Kong
23-25 February 2012: 16th Conference of The Union North America Region, Texas, USA
27-30 March 2012: 27th Conference of The Union Middle-East Region, Cairo, Egypt
4 - 6 July 2012: 6th Conference of The Union Europe Region, London, United Kingdom

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health and Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Action Group (Kenya), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 22 - 28 June 2011

2011-06-30T10:49:00.001+05:30

1- New TB Vaccine Passes Safety Tests

(Source: Voice of America, America)

Tuberculosis continues to be a major threat around the world, especially in developing countries. A new vaccine has gone into testing, and the results may change how childhood vaccinations are given. Read more

2- Rising Drug Resistance Worries Doctors
(Source: All Africa News, Nairobi, Africa)
The World Health Organisation has warned that if anti-microbial resistance is not halted, many infectious diseases -- like TB, pneumonia and HIV/Aids -- risk becoming uncontrollable. This could derail the progress already made by East Africa towards achieving the health related Millennium Development Goals. Read more

3- Sanofi Signs R&D Contract On Treating Tuberculosis
(Source: The Wall Street Journal, USA)
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi SA (SAN.FR) said it signed into a research collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical College to identify new medicines that aim to shorten the course of treatment of tuberculosis and could provide effective therapies against drug-susceptible and drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis. Read more

4- Scientists come up with new molecule that may lead to better drug for TB

(Source: The Hindu, Tamil Nadu, India)
Scientists at the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC) here have hit upon a new molecule with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties that could potentially lead to a better drug for the treatment of TB and common HIV sub-types. Read more

5- Hostels for MDR-TB patients ready

(Source: Republica News, Kathmandu, Nepal)
In an attempt to prevent multi-drug resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB) from spreading, the government is all prepared to keep the patients in hostels. Read more
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Watch these dates!
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France
8-11 July: 3rd Asia-Pacific Regional Union Conference on Lung Health, Hong Kong
23-25 February 2012: 16th Conference of The Union North America Region, Texas, USA
27-30 March 2012: 27th Conference of The Union Middle-East Region, Cairo, Egypt
4 - 6 July 2012: 6th Conference of The Union Europe Region, London, United Kingdom

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health and Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Action Group (Kenya), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 16 - 21 June 2011

2011-06-21T09:46:00.001+05:30

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor provides a snapshot of five major news pieces on tuberculosis (TB) prevention, treatment, care and support related issues, from around the world, particularly prioritising news highlights from TB high-burdened countries and links to major TB-related events or other advocacy opportunities. This is issue 1271 (16 - 21 June 2011)

1- Coordination is the key: CCM partnerships in India
(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand)
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) should strengthen national partnerships on specific issues and their coordination with Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs). This is not only to optimise programme performance, but also ensure that community voices are central to health responses. Read more

2- Meeting the MDG targets for TB eradication in Zimbabwe: Global Fund money is vital
(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand)
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in Zimbabwe. As of 2011, the country ranks 20th out of 22 on the list of high-burden TB countries. In 2008, Zimbabwe had an estimated 73,714 new TB cases, and an incidence of 557 per 100,000 people. To aid the national TB response in Zimbabwe, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) supports a number of programmes. Read more

3- Simplify and build local competencies to manage Global Fund grants: a view from India
(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand) The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (the Global Fund) has contributed significantly over the last decade in accelerating India‟s response to TB, HIV and malaria, saving lives and preventing infections. However a lot more needs to be done as it is clearly not enough. If the Global Fund and India do business as usual, currently unreached populations are unlikely to benefit."Over the last ten years the Global Fund has focussed on strengthening the national programmes in India", according to Dr Nevin Wilson, Director, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South East Asia office, New Delhi. Read more

4- The Global Fund should support operational research to reach the unreached
(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand)
Since its inception in 2001, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (The Global Fund) has saved approximately 5.7 million lives. Each day an additional 4000 deaths are averted, but in order to continue its existing programmes and rapidly scale up towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, The Global Fund needs to invest resources in operational or applied research to confirm where it gets most value for its dollar, measured in terms of protecting human rights, saving lives and preventing infections. Read more

5- Infertility problem could be because of tuberculosis
(Source: Daily News and Analysis, Bangalore, Karnataka)
Doctors say that nearly 90% of women with genital tuberculosis (GTB) are diagnosed in the 15-40 years age range. Infertility on account of GTB is 40-80%. Twoout of 10 women suffering from TB cannot bear children, but experts say that with advanced medical treatment now available, if the diagnosis is early enough, GTB can be treated and the woman can regain fertility. Read more
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Watch these dates!

21 June: Pacific Health Summit, Seattle, USA
28 June: 4th Global Fund Partnership Forum Conference, Sao Paulo, Brasil
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France
8-11 July: 3rd Asia-Pacific Regional Union Conference on Lung Health, Hong Kong

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health and Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Action Group (Kenya), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

Infertility problem could be because of tuberculosis

2011-06-20T12:23:00.000+05:30

(Source: Daily News and Analysis, Bangalore, Karnataka)

Kala (name changed) had been married for over two years. Unable to conceive, she approached the Bangalore Assisted Conception Centre (BACC). In the course of investigation, an endometrial biopsy was recommended, to test the lining of Kala’s uterus. That test revealed that Kala, only 23 years old, had tuberculosis. Kala belongs to an upper middle class family, and her case contradicts the prevailing notion that tuberculosis is a disease of the poor, the old and the malnourished.

Doctors say that nearly 90% of women with genital tuberculosis (GTB) are diagnosed in the 15-40 years age range. Infertility on account of GTB is 40-80%. Two out of 10 women suffering from TB cannot bear children, but experts say that with advanced medical treatment now available, if the diagnosis is early enough, GTB can be treated and the woman can regain fertility.

“Kala was treated for nine months for tuberculosis. After completing her course, she conceived naturally. She is now six months pregnant,” said Dr Kamini Rao, medical director, BACC. Read more

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 9 - 15 June 2011

2011-06-14T17:26:00.003+05:30

If your driver, cook or maid is coughing repeatedly, do not take it casually. He or she might be carrying multiple drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB), thus exposing you to the risk of an infection that is on the rise in city. Read more

2- A TB centre in Ojha that doesn’t believe in just treating the illness
(Source: The Express Tribune, Karachi, Pakistan)
There are an estimated 17,000 people in Pakistan who suffer from Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB). About 3,000 of them live in Sindh. MDR shows up in patients with TB who are not treated properly. Right now, Pakistan bears 55 per cent of the TB burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region and ranks eighth highest in the world. This makes TB a major public health problem. Read more

3- Manipur first in region to test multi drug-resistant tuberculosis
(Source: The Telegraph, West Bengal, India)
Manipur will have the first centre in the Northeast to treat multi drug-resistant TB, with one of the four national reference centres assuring the state’s intermediate reference laboratory of accreditation, in order to function as a national reference laboratory. A team from Delhi’s Lala Ram Swarup Hospital, one of the four national reference laboratories of the country for testing multi drug-resistant TB, visited the state’s intermediate reference laboratory at the medical department’s research and development wing at Lamphelpat of Imphal West last month. Read more

4- Closures will increase TB threat to Aust
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia)
Closing tuberculosis clinics in the Torres Strait will see the disease re-establish itself in mainland Australia, a tropical health expert warns. The Queensland government will close TB clinics in the Torres Strait at the end of the month. Read more

5- Scientists Launch Vaccine Research Foundation
(Source: PR Wire News, USA)
Fourteen leading scientists and advocacy experts in vaccines and infectious diseases have announced the formation of a new international Foundation to advance and accelerate vaccine research and development against infectious diseases. Read more
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Watch these dates!

21 June: Pacific Health Summit, Seattle, USA
28 June: 4th Global Fund Partnership Forum Conference, Sao Paulo, Brasil
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France
8-11 July: 3rd Asia-Pacific Regional Union Conference on Lung Health, Hong Kong
6-8 June: National Tuberculosis Research Conference, Gondar, Ethiopia

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health and Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Action Group (Kenya), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

Scientists Launch Vaccine Research Foundation

2011-06-14T17:22:00.000+05:30

(Source: PR Wire News, USA)

Fourteen leading scientists and advocacy experts in vaccines and infectious diseases have announced the formation of a new international Foundation to advance and accelerate vaccine research and development against infectious diseases. The Foundation for Vaccine Research will be headquartered in Washington, DC. The Foundation's mission is to raise global awareness of the need for increased, long-term, flexible funding for vaccine research against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases, including neglected tropical diseases, as well as universal vaccines for influenza and a vaccine to avert pandemic influenza. The Foundation's activities will focus on persuading opinion leaders, policymakers inside and outside government, and other decision makers of the benefits and safety of vaccines and the merits of increased investment in vaccine research. The Foundation will seek to mobilize resources internationally and on a large scale to finance vaccine research globally, with a special focus on securing new assets and the development of innovative financing mechanisms. The Foundation will also conduct televised fundraising events and benefit concerts, with 100 percent of publicly donated funds going directly to teams of scientists and their institutions. The Foundation will also engage with the anti-vaccine movement to persuade them of the benefits of vaccines. Read more

Closures will increase TB threat to Aust

2011-06-14T17:00:00.000+05:30

(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia)

Closing tuberculosis clinics in the Torres Strait will see the disease re-establish itself in mainland Australia, a tropical health expert warns. The Queensland government will close TB clinics in the Torres Strait at the end of the month.

The clinics have been used primarily to treat PNG nationals who are unable to access treatment in their own country. James Cook University Professor Ian Wronski said the decision would ultimately result in the infectious lung disease re-emerging in Australia.

"(If this goes ahead) TB will re-establish firstly in tropical Australia and then move down," he told AAP. The planned closure has been seen as an attempt to persuade the PNG government to improve health services in its western province. Read more

Manipur first in region to test multi drug-resistant tuberculosis

2011-06-14T16:39:00.000+05:30

(Source: The Telegraph, West Bengal, India)

Manipur will have the first centre in the Northeast to treat multi drug-resistant TB, with one of the four national reference centres assuring the state’s intermediate reference laboratory of accreditation, in order to function as a national reference laboratory. A team from Delhi’s Lala Ram Swarup Hospital, one of the four national reference laboratories of the country for testing multi drug-resistant TB, visited the state’s intermediate reference laboratory at the medical department’s research and development wing at Lamphelpat of Imphal West last month.

“The team was satisfied with our laboratory and work. They assured us that accreditation would be given to our laboratory as a national reference laboratory within three months,” state TB officer Ak. Khamba told The Telegraph. The intermediate reference laboratory was opened on March 19 this year for Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. The Centre also sanctioned an intermediate reference laboratory for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Only the Imphal laboratory is functioning so far. The officer said so far, 16 blood samples from Imphal and Imphal East were tested for multi drug-resistant TB at the laboratory. Of them, nine tested positive. Read more

A TB centre in Ojha that doesn’t believe in just treating the illness

2011-06-14T16:28:00.000+05:30

(Source: The Express Tribune, Karachi, Pakistan)

There are an estimated 17,000 people in Pakistan who suffer from Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB). About 3,000 of them live in Sindh. MDR shows up in patients with TB who are not treated properly. Right now, Pakistan bears 55 per cent of the TB burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region and ranks eighth highest in the world. This makes TB a major public health problem.

One centre that deals with people suffering from the illness is the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases (OICD). The centre, funded in part by the Dow University Hospital and private donors, admits on average between five and 10 patients while the clinics service up to 800 patients daily. At any time, about 200 patients are admitted in its wards. Read more

TB spread: Blame it on maids

2011-06-14T16:17:00.000+05:30

(Source: The Times of India, Chandigarh, India)

CHANDIGARH: If your driver, cook or maid is coughing repeatedly, do not take it casually. He or she might be carrying multiple drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB), thus exposing you to the risk of an infection that is on the rise in city.

Records available at Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), UT, state that five to six cases of this form of TB have been reported in the city every month during the past six months. This sort of periodicity has not been noticed during the previous years, say doctors, adding household workers who go unscreened, stop medication or develop resistance to TB drugs are likely to spread the infection in the urban dwellings where they work. Programme officer of RNTCP Dr Anil Garg said, ''In the last one year, we have sent 50-60 sputum samples for MDRTB.'' Read more

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 31 May - 6 June 2011

2011-06-08T15:40:00.002+05:30

1- Reduce AIDS deaths by preventing and treating tuberculosis (TB): Study

(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand)
A new study further builds upon the body of evidence that it is possible to save lives of people living with HIV (PLHIV) if we prevent and treat tuberculosis (TB). Read more

2- Online TB diagnosis picking up: study
(Source: The Dawn News, Pakistan)
A study conducted in the peri-urban and rural areas of Sindh has shown that an online diagnosis of difficult tuberculosis (TB) cases is as accurate as face-to-face diagnosis. The online diagnosis of TB is one of the first few e-health initiatives in Pakistan that faces grave challenges in the fight against tuberculosis, though a national TB control programme has been in place in the country for over 15 years. Read more

3- Refugees Can Be Effectively Treated To Prevent Tuberculo
(Source: Medical News Today, Australia)
Almost one in three recently arrived refugees in Darwin tested positive for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), research published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia has found. Researchers from the Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory (CDC-NT) found that of 458 refugees screened between 1 February 2006 and 31 January 2009, 146 (31.9 per cent) were diagnosed with LTBI. LTBI implies past exposure to tuberculosis, leaving the individual susceptible to active infection later in life if not treated. Read more

4- Involving industry in the fight against TB
(Source: Express Pharma Online News, India)
A new report shows that the private tuberculosis (TB) drug market is now as large as the public market. Given that the private market has irregular practices that could be driving treatment failures and the emergence of drug-resistant TB, it is imperative that policy makers expand Public-Private Mix (PPM) programmes. Read more

5- Farmers at risk of contracting tuberculosis
(Source: Viet Nam News, Viet Nam)
According to the National Committee for Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, 76 per cent of tuberculosis patients in Viet Nam are farmers. A recent survey showed that people living in rural and densely populated areas were most at risk of contracting the disease. Read more
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Watch these dates!

21 June: Pacific Health Summit, Seattle, USA
28 June: 4th Global Fund Partnership Forum Conference, Sao Paulo, Brasil
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France
8-11 July: 3rd Asia-Pacific Regional Union Conference on Lung Health, Hong Kong
6-8 June: National Tuberculosis Research Conference, Gondar, Ethiopia

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health and Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

Farmers at risk of contracting tuberculosis

2011-06-08T15:32:00.000+05:30

(Source: Viet Nam News, Viet Nam)

According to the National Committee for Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, 76 per cent of tuberculosis patients in Viet Nam are farmers. A recent survey showed that people living in rural and densely populated areas were most at risk of contracting the disease.

The provinces with the highest rate of tuberculosis infection are Sõon La, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Tuyeâên Quang, Vinh Phuc and Hai Phong – all in the north of the country. Health workers say farmers are most at risk because they tend to be poor, live in polluted and humid conditions and have limited access to health care. Read more

Involving industry in the fight against TB

2011-06-08T15:17:00.000+05:30

(Source: Express Pharma Online News, India)

A new report shows that the private tuberculosis (TB) drug market is now as large as the public market. Given that the private market has irregular practices that could be driving treatment failures and the emergence of drug-resistant TB, it is imperative that policy makers expand Public-Private Mix (PPM) programmes

Tuberculosis (TB) is widely considered a public health concern and its treatment a public sector responsibility. But according to a study published recently in the journal PLoS ONE, the in the private sector TB treatment is ignored at our peril. Across 10 high-burden countries, there is as much TB drug volumes in the private sector as is in the public sector — and at least a third of all private sector dosages of first-line TB drugs fall outside national and international treatment recommendations. Any resulting drug misuse could be responsible for many treatment failures and for escalating the emergence of multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), which is further worsening the TB epidemic. Read more

Refugees Can Be Effectively Treated To Prevent Tuberculo

2011-06-08T15:05:00.000+05:30

(Source: Medical News Today, Australia)

Almost one in three recently arrived refugees in Darwin tested positive for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), research published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia has found. Researchers from the Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory (CDC-NT) found that of 458 refugees screened between 1 February 2006 and 31 January 2009, 146 (31.9 per cent) were diagnosed with LTBI. LTBI implies past exposure to tuberculosis, leaving the individual susceptible to active infection later in life if not treated.

More than three in four of those diagnosed accepted treatment, and about half of those completed treatment. All refugees aged 11 years and older who are being considered for entry into Australia are screened for active tuberculosis, and must be treated and cured before arriving in Australia. Read more

Ray of Hope for TB Patients

2011-06-02T12:20:00.002+05:30

(Source: All Africa News, 02 June 2011)
"Once the machines are made available, it will take two hours to test MDR- TB in a person, a process that used to take between three and four months and most patients would have died before results came out," he said. He said worse off, the old tests were conducted using machines invented almost 100 years ago. Dr Sandy added that there is no rapid TB test as yet. It could be available around 2015.

He said existing tests show poor performance in diagnosing TB in children, people living with HIV/Aids, and extra-pulmonary forms of the disease. "TB patients are still to date left with either fair access to poor diagnostics or poor access to fair diagnostics. "But with the new machine, results can be available while a patient waits in a clinic. Read more

Calls to keep Torres Strait TB clinics open

2011-06-02T12:17:00.001+05:30

(Source: National Affairs, 02 June 2011)
Dr Waring applauded the drive for self-sufficiency but warned it could take decades, by which time the disease could mutate into the drug-resistant XDR-TB strain, which is resistant to most treatments. "You're almost returning to 100 years ago when there were no drugs for TB and people were sent off to the mountains to live in sanatoriums," he said.

Coalition regional health spokesman Andrew Laming, a doctor, said the consequences could be "disastrous". "Ceasing these services can lead to multi-drug-resistant TB and the costs to Australia will be far in excess of the resources required to continue frontline treatment," he said. Read more

Online TB diagnosis picking up: study

2011-06-02T12:15:00.001+05:30

(Source: The Dawn News, 02 June 2011)
A study conducted in the peri-urban and rural areas of Sindh has shown that an online diagnosis of difficult tuberculosis (TB) cases is as accurate as face-to-face diagnosis. The online diagnosis of TB is one of the first few e-health initiatives in Pakistan that faces grave challenges in the fight against tuberculosis, though a national TB control programme has been in place in the country for over 15 years.

Tuberculosis, which is a curable disease, annually claims lives of between 80,000 and 100,000 people in Pakistan, ranking sixth among the high disease burden countries in the world. The number of TB cases is estimated to be 171 per 100,000. Read more

TB Conference Opens in Kigali

2011-06-02T11:55:00.003+05:30

(Source: All Africa News, 02 June 2011)
While officially opening the five-day conference, the Minister of Health, Dr Agnes Binagwaho, told participants that African countries need to embark on escalating health information surveillance for detection and monitoring of Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR), including drug-resistant tuberculosis across the continent.

"We are very happy to host such a high level meeting. It gives us an opportunity to better manage our health sectors. Tuberculosis knows no borders," said Binagwaho. "It is therefore up to all of us to play our part and strengthen surveillance, recording and reporting of these cases so that we ensure sustainability for control of this diseases," she noted. Read more

TB vaccines: getting them out of the lab

2011-06-02T11:53:00.002+05:30

(Source: Alertnet News, 02 June 2011)
International tuberculosis (TB) experts are gathering today — World TB Day — in France to discuss advances in research into vaccines. But the reason there is no effective vaccine to prevent the roughly ten million new cases and two million deaths from TB each year has little to do with the science. There are already 11 vaccines in clinical trials whose progress has slowed or stalled because the funding has dried up. That is why the TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), an independent organisation that promotes the development of TB vaccines, is launching a new funding model today. Read more

Force of tuberculosis infection among adolescents in a high HIV and TB prevalence community: a cross-sectional observation study

2011-06-02T11:49:00.003+05:30

(Source: 7th Space Interactive, 02 June 2011)
Understanding of the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis (TB) in high TB and HIV prevalent settings is required in order to develop effective intervention strategies for TB control. However, there are little data assessing incidence of TB infection in adolescents in these settings. Read more

TB clinic shutdown exposes islanders

2011-06-02T11:47:00.003+05:30

(Source: National Affairs, 02 June 2011)
TB experts fear the shutdown could lead to the infectious lung disease taking hold in vulnerable Torres Strait and Cape York indigenous areas and the spread of deadly drug-resistant strains. Pressure is mounting on the Immigration Department to turn away ill Papua New Guinean nationals, who have long sought treatment from Queensland Health, even though PNG's impoverished and remote Western Province still lacks the capacity to treat all of its sick. Read more

Four being treated for TB in Ross

2011-06-02T11:43:00.003+05:30

(Source: Ross-shire Journal News, 02 June 2011)
THREE new TB cases have been confirmed in Ross-shire following last week's revelation that a primary school pupil had been infected. Screening for the bacterial disease was offered this week to concerned parents at South Lodge Primary in Invergordon after it emerged last week that a P1 pupil was affected.

However it has been established that none of the three new cases identified this week have been found at the school. It was previously stated by health chiefs that the affected child did not catch the infection at school and remains well. Read more

Tuberculosis Expert Joins Oxford Immunotec as Senior Scientific Advisor

2011-06-02T11:41:00.002+05:30

(Source: Business Wire, 02 June 2011)
“Improving the diagnosis of TB infection is critically important, and Dr. Iseman is uniquely qualified to help us in our goal to set the standard for TB testing accuracy, simplicity and cost-effectiveness,” commented Jeff Schroeder, President of Oxford Immunotec, Inc. “In addition, Dr. Iseman’s highly-regarded ability to educate medical professionals will be invaluable in raising awareness of the differences between innovative technology like our T-SPOT®.TB test and the 100 year-old tuberculin skin test.” Read more

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 24-30 May 2011

2011-06-01T09:17:00.022+05:30

Treatment poses major challenges, particularly with the development of drug-resistant strains of TB. The government spends less on a patient treating ordinary TB than treating drug-resistant strains. Read more

3- Pak ranks 6th among high TB risk countries
(Source: The Pak Observer, Pakistan)
According to health experts, TB is an infectious bacterial disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. He added the disease is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the active respiratory disease. Read more

4- Zimbabwe Struggles to Slow Mounting Incidence of Deadly Tuberculosis
(Source: VOA News, USA)
He said Zimbabwe is not yet diagnosing or treating drug-resistant tuberculosis as other countries in the region are doing for lack of the medical testing equipment needed to detect strains of tuberculosis that resist standard treatments. Read more

5- Diabetics have up to 5 times higher risk of developing tuberculosis
(Source: Daily News & Analysis (DNA), India)
This research confirms results from several other studies showing an increased risk of TB in people with diabetes and means that it is important that clinicians actively seek to diagnose diabetes in people with TB, and vice versa,” said Knut Lonnroth, medical officer in the Stop TB Department at the World Health Organisation. Read more
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Watch these dates!

21 June: Pacific Health Summit, Seattle, USA
28 June: 4th Global Fund Partnership Forum Conference, Sao Paulo, Brasil
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France
8-11 July: 3rd Asia-Pacific Regional Union Conference on Lung Health, Hong Kong
6-8 June: National Tuberculosis Research Conference, Gondar, Ethiopia

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health & Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

Tuberculosis Spreading In France

2011-05-28T12:10:00.002+05:30

(Source: Third Age, 28 May 2011)
According to UPI.com, while most cases are treated in pulmonology hospital wards, France's one remaining TB sanatorium in Paris is still operating and not likely to be closed any time soon. At the Petit Fontainebleau sanatorium where more than 60 patients are being treated, some have developed drug-resistant TB, which is hard to cure, Radio France Internationale reported.

"This type of TB is difficult to treat because it needs other drugs which are less tolerated," Dr. Mathilde Jachym said, and "we have to give patients this drug for a long time." In the 1980s, many health experts thought TB would disappear in France thanks to better living conditions and medicine, but there has been a slight increase in the number of cases in the 21st century, doctors said. Read more

High tuberculosis incidence: Alarm bells ring for Punjab

2011-05-28T12:05:00.002+05:30

(Source: The News International, 28 May 2011)
As many as 10,831 new tuberculosis cases have been reported at the state-run healthcare facilities in 35 districts across Pakistan in February this year, according to a report by Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) on Friday.

Terming it a serious concern for the government, a monthly health scan of Fafen, a network of 44 civil society organisations, said worryingly the Punjab “accounted for 86 per cent of the reported cases in 18 districts”. It said the number of confirmed TB cases reported in February 2011 was double than the 4,910 cases reported a month earlier in 37 districts. Read more

Pak ranks 6th among high TB risk countries

2011-05-28T12:02:00.002+05:30

(Source: The Pak Observer, 28 May 2011)
According to health experts, TB is an infectious bacterial disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. He added the disease is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the active respiratory disease.

They added in healthy people, infection with mycobacterium tuberculosis often causes no symptoms, since the person’s immune system acts to wall off the bacteria. They said the symptoms of active TB of the lung are coughing, sometimes with sputum or blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. They added tuberculosis is treatable with a six-month course of antibiotics. Read more

HAAD enforces new standards to combat TB

2011-05-28T12:00:00.001+05:30

(Source: Khaleej Times, 28 May 2011)
“TB is a challenging public health concern and we are aiming to enhance the reporting and management cases in the emirate. The treatment course for TB is taken for around six months to one year and a lot of patients don’t complete the course of treatment. The new system will enable us to follow up the cases diagnosed with TB and make sure they take their treatment,” said Dr Farida Al Hosani, head of the Communicable Diseases at HAAD. Read more

Emory University Hospital’s Employee Diagnosed of TB

2011-05-28T11:58:00.001+05:30

(Source: Top News, 28 May 2011)
TB is a fatal disease and it could be spread through the air by coughing and sneezing. Common symptoms include chest pains, heavy coughing, fever and fatigue. However, it has emerged that about 11 million people in the United States are infected with hidden tuberculosis, which is symptom-free and is not contagious. There is a provision for TB in the State law according to which TB patients, who may have been exposed, must be notified. Read more

Hospital worker may have exposed almost 700 patients to TB

2011-05-28T11:50:00.003+05:30

(Source: Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2011)
Tuberculosis is not the killer in this country that it once was, but it’s nonetheless a dangerous, lethal disease, killing nearly 2 million people worldwide each year. And even in this country, if a healthcare worker were to expose hospitalized patients and other healthcare workers to the bacterial infection, much consternation -- and possibly, alarm – might ensue.

That appears to be what happened at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta recently. CNN reports that an employee with tuberculosis may have unknowingly exposed about 680 patients and 100 employees to the disease. Read more

TB Infected Worker Exposes Hundreds At Emory University Hospital, USA

2011-05-28T11:47:00.001+05:30

(Source: Medical News Today, 28 May 2011)
Over 680 patients and a considerable number of employees were exposed to TB (tuberculosis) at Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. According to local media reports, exposure started in November 2010 and continued for several months - the employee did not know he was infected until April 2011. In May 2011 the state Department of Community Health started contacting people about possible exposure. Emory University Hospital says it routinely screens its employees once a year. Read more

Tuberculosis in HIV/AIDS infected persons

2011-05-28T11:42:00.002+05:30

(Source: The Himalayan, 28 May 2011)
More than two dozen people living with HIV/AIDS in Kanchanpur district are found to be suffering from tuberculosis. Inspector at the District Public Health Office, Bhawani Joshi said as many as 25 people with HIV/AIDS are suffering from tuberculosis in the district. These cases were confirmed through sputum test of the HIV infected people. “Cases of combined form of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis have increased in the district of late,” Joshi said. Read more

Link between diabetes and increased risk of tuberculosis reported

2011-05-27T11:59:00.000+05:30

(Source: Diabetes News, 27 May 2011)
A new study by scientists in the United States has revealed a new link between type 2 diabetes and the risk of contracting tuberculosis (TB). The research showed that diabetes patients have a three to five times greater chance of getting TB than non-diabetics .

The study, carried out at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, involved 233 TB patients, finding that 25 per cent of TB cases could be attributed to the presence of diabetes, while just 6 per cent of the TB cases were due to HIV. Read more

Type 2 diabetes patients may be more likely to contract tuberculosis

2011-05-27T11:54:00.001+05:30

(Source: Endocrine Web, 27 May 2011)
Individuals with type 2 diabetes are already known to be at an increased risk of several other diseases, including heart disease, kidney failure and neuropathy. Now, a new study from researchers at the University of Texas has found that they may also be more likely to acquire tuberculosis (TB).

After surveying the medical records of 233 TB patients who lived in Mexico and Texas along the border, the researchers reported in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization that 25 percent of the cases were attributable to type 2 diabetes. They said their results show that diabetics are between five and seven times more likely to contract TB. Read more

Diabetics have up to 5 times higher risk of developing tuberculosis

2011-05-26T13:37:00.002+05:30

(Source: Daily News & Analysis, 26 May 2011)
A recent study has found that diabetics have a three to five times higher risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) than those without the disease. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston (UTHealth) analysed 233 patients with TB living in Texas and Mexico along the border to confirm the findings.

“With the increase in diabetes patients in TB-endemic areas, our findings highlight the re-emerging impact of diabetes mellitus, known as type 2, on TB control in regions of the world where both diseases are prevalent,” said Blanca Restrepo, associate professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health. Read more

Nature Perspective Offers 2020 Vision of Vaccines for Malaria, TB & HIV/AIDS

2011-05-26T13:12:00.001+05:30

(Source: News Wise, 26 May 2011)
Systems biology can also be used to speed the often lengthy clinical trial experience. Aderem and Rappuoli estimate that in trials of new vaccines for malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS, only one hypothesis has been tested every eight years in the past three decades. “We cannot afford this approach if we want to have an impact on disease in a reasonable timeframe,” Aderem said. Read more

150,000 unsafe water bottles hit market daily

2011-05-26T13:11:00.001+05:30

(Source: The Nation News, 26 May 2011)
“Manufacturers of these cold drinks are not only violating the food laws but also spreading various diseases like hepatitis, diarrhea, tuberculosis (TB) and a number of other diseases among the citizens due to unhealthy nutrition affects of such cold drinks”, they further informed. They alleged that the distributors of a number of branded and multinational companies were also involved in this illegal business and were playing havoc with the lives of innocent people only for the sake of money. Read more

347 contract TB in Zamfara

2011-05-26T13:08:00.001+05:30

(Source: Vanguard News, 26 May 2011)
No fewer than 347 people were infected with tuberculosis in Zamfara between January and April, Dr Ibrahim Bature, the TB and Leprosy Control Officer in the state, has announced. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that Gusau Local Government Area had the highest with 115 cases, while Bukkuyum Local Government Area had the least with six cases. Bature said 20 of those infected also tested positive HIV/AIDS positive. He explained that the increase in the number of those infected by the disease was due to the fact that it was a communicable disease. Read more

Zimbabwe Struggles to Slow Mounting Incidence of Deadly Tuberculosis

2011-05-26T13:05:00.002+05:30

(Source: VOA News, 26 May 2011)
The tuberculosis epidemic in Zimbabwe has become one of the worst in the world, according to international health consultant Population Services International. The country registered the second highest number of deaths from the communicable disease, which in Zimbabwe is closely related to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Nearly 72,000 new cases were recorded in 2007, the most recent year for which data was available, for an incidence rate of 539 cases per 10,000 people. Read more

Tuberculosis on the rise in France

2011-05-26T12:57:00.003+05:30

(Source: UPI News, 26 May 2011)
Tuberculosis is making a comeback in France, where doctors say they are concerned about the growing number of cases in the country in recent years. While most cases are treated in pulmonology hospital wards, France's one remaining TB sanatorium in Paris is still operating and not likely to be closed any time soon, Radio France Internationale reported Wednesday. At the Petit Fontainebleau sanatorium where more than 60 patients are being treated, some have developed drug-resistant TB, which is hard to cure, RFI reported. Read more

France's last TB sanatorium combats illness that should have disappeared

2011-05-26T12:47:00.003+05:30

(Source: RFI News, 26 May 2011)
France's last remaining tuberculosis sanatorium could become more necessary with a slight increase in the number of TB cases in the country over the last few years. Most sufferers are treated in hospital but the Petit Fontainebleau sanatorium near Paris is still in business and does not likely to close any time soon. Read more

Failure to complete treatment slowing down war on Tuberculosis

2011-05-26T12:33:00.001+05:30

(Source: Daily Nation, 26 May 2011)
Tuberculosis treatment should be improved if Kenya hopes to achieve a Millennium Development Goal target that calls for halting and reversing the prevalence of the disease by 2015. Kenya holds the unenviable 13th position out of 22 countries with a high Tuberculosis burden globally, with the disease taking its greatest toll among the most productive age group of 15 to 44.

The recently launched Service Provision Assessment calls for an expansion of the services in government hospitals in order to curb the spread of the deadly disease. Read more

Former Ramsey County inmate with TB sues

2011-05-26T12:29:00.002+05:30

(Source: Star Tribune, 26 May 2011)
The former inmate claims the county violated his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual treatment by failing to recognize and treat his tuberculosis. McCaster's lawsuit said the jail's medical staff "utterly failed" to help him as he dropped 44 pounds off his 200 pound frame, shuffled weakly through the halls and his eyes took on a look of death. The lawsuit claims the signs should have been obvious to nurses, but the county had "constitutionally deficient protocols and procedures" for health care. Read more

Diabetics at higher risk of developing TB

2011-05-26T12:16:00.001+05:30

(Source: The Times of India, 26 May 2011)
A recent study has found that diabetics have a three to five times higher risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) than those without the disease. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) analyzed 233 patients with TB living in Texas and Mexico along the border to confirm the findings.

"With the increase in diabetes patients in TB-endemic areas, our findings highlight the re-emerging impact of diabetes mellitus, known as type 2, on TB control in regions of the world where both diseases are prevalent," said Blanca Restrepo, associate professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health. Read more

Promising TB vaccine candidate progresses to Phase I clinical trials

2011-05-26T09:26:00.001+05:30

(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), 26 May 2011)
The MTBVAC01 vaccine candidate, developed to protect people against tuberculosis, will start Phase I clinical trials early in 2012. This was announced by the Spanish biopharmaceutical company Biofabri. The candidate was developed by the University of Zaragoza, Spain and is part of the international portfolio of TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI). Tuberculosis causes almost two million deaths per year. Read more

Study: diabetics have greater risk of contracting tuberculosis

2011-05-25T12:45:00.002+05:30

(Source: Examiner News, 25 May 2011)
According to lead researcher Blanca Restrepo Ph.D., “With the increase in diabetes patients in TB-endemic areas, our findings highlight the re-emerging impact of diabetes mellitus, known as type 2, on TB control in regions of the world where both diseases are prevalent.”

The TB study group included 61 patients in South Texas and 172 in Northeastern Mexico. While the majority of the S. Texas participants were aware of their diabetes status, only 20% of the Mexican participants were aware. Read more

County cuts tuberculosis screening to state minimum to save money

2011-05-25T12:28:00.006+05:30

(Source: The Columbas Dispatch, 25 May 2011)
Health experts are worried that reducing screening programs could cause a resurgence of tuberculosis similar to what happened after cutbacks in the 1980s. "We can already predict the consequences, and that is a perilous situation we don't want to find ourselves in," said Larry Schlesinger, chairman of the new department of microbial infections and immunity at Ohio State University.

Franklin County has more reported cases of tuberculosis than any other part of the state, but yesterday, the county commissioners grudgingly reduced funding to $1.8 million for this year. Last year, they provided $2.2 million. Read more

PET Scans Predict Effectiveness of Treatment for Multidrug-Resistant TB in HIV Patients

2011-05-25T12:21:00.002+05:30

(Source: ICT News, 25 May 2011)
With the deficiencies in knowledge of tuberculosis—as well as in the practices, programs and strategies used to combat the disease and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis poses a major problem for the healthcare community. Research in the June issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, however, shows that the use of 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) scans can help to determine earlier if treatment for tuberculosis is working or if the disease is MDR. Read more

World Medical Association Expands TB Training For Physicians

2011-05-25T12:14:00.003+05:30

(Source: Medical News Today, 25 May 2011)
With the re-emergence of tuberculosis as a serious global disease, killing 4,500 people a day, the World Medical Association has stepped up its programme to train physicians on how to diagnose and treat the disease. It has launched new interactive training material to support physicians in their daily work with TB and multidrug resistant TB patients and it is also helping to organise a rare workshop in China. Read more

Many products of extramural research by ICMR up for grabs for industry

2011-05-25T12:11:00.002+05:30

(Source: Pharmabiz News, 25 May 2011)
The invention provides a method for demonstration of the role of MptpA and MptpB in the pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis. The mutant strain lacking tyrosine phosphatases associated with either MptpA or MptpB was employed to understand the role of these proteins in the survival of M. tuberculosis in murine macrophages and in the ability of the mutants to cause disease in guinea pigs,” according to official note prepared for inviting interested partners. Read more

North Wales vigilant after TB outbreak

2011-05-25T12:02:00.003+05:30

(Source: News Wales, 25 May 2011)
Fifty people in North Wales have been screened for Tuberculosis (TB) as part of a contact tracing exercise following a case of active TB in the Rhyl area. The investigation is being led by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Public Health Wales. A total of 50 adults and children who are close contacts of the case have been traced and screened as a precautionary measure. One individual has been identified as having active TB following screening and six have been identified as having latent (non-infectious) TB. Read more

Invergordon South Lodge Primary pupil confirmed TB case

2011-05-25T11:56:00.002+05:30

(Source: BBC News, 25 May 2011)
The health board said it was unlikely there has been any spread of the bacterial disease in the school. Screening will be offered from 30 May. NHS Highland consultant in public health medicine, Dr Ken Oates, said treatment for the infection was available. He said: "We realise some parents will be anxious about this, but would seek to reassure everyone that the measures we are taking are precautionary. "In the unlikely event that another child is found to have TB infection, then effective antibiotic treatment is available." Read more

UTHealth Researchers Find Diabetics At Higher Risk Of Tuberculosis Infection

2011-05-25T11:12:00.001+05:30

(Source: Red Orbit News, 25 May 2011)
TB is a leading killer among bacterial diseases worldwide. In 2009, more than 9 million new cases were diagnosed and 1.7 million people died from the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) suspects TB control is being undermined by the growing number of patients with diabetes mellitus in the world, which is anticipated to reach 438 million by 2030. Research suggests that diabetes depresses the immune response, which in turn facilitates infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and/or progression to symptomatic disease. Read more

Diabetics 'at higher risk of TB'

2011-05-25T09:46:00.003+05:30

(Source: Medical News, 25 May 2011)
People with diabetes are at a higher risk of tuberculosis (TB), research has discovered. A team from the University of Texas Health Science Center found that 25 per cent of cases of TB could be attributed to the presence of diabetes. This compares to just six per cent of cases which were due to HIV, according to the study published in the Bulletin of the Woold Health Organization. Lead investigator Blanca Restrepo said that physicians should screen at-risk diabetes patients for TB and ensure patients are aware of their diabetes status. Read more

Inmates lead the fight against TB in Zambia's prisons

2011-05-24T14:17:00.002+05:30

(Source: Stop TB Partnership, 24 May 2011)
Five inmates at Lusaka Central Prison are about to start an exceptionally busy day that includes activities beyond the bounds of ordinary prison routine. All serve as inmate TB Peer Educators and are specially trained to screen for TB and make referrals. Today's activities will serve a larger goal: to complete TB screening and HIV testing for more than 1500 inmates in less than four months. Read more

We still haven't made a decision on culling of badgers, says Government

2011-05-24T14:14:00.002+05:30

(Source: Cornwall News, 24 May 2011)
"Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is having a devastating effect, with nearly 25,000 cattle in England slaughtered last year because of it. "This is a complex and sensitive issue, and there has been a delay to ensure the measures we put in place are the right ones. "We will announce a comprehensive and balanced TB Eradication Programme for England by the end of July."

Three months ago, Mr Paice indicated that there was a question mark over the cull, saying a delay was necessary to "resist the inevitable judicial review". Farmers hailed a watershed moment last autumn when the Government announced it was consulting on whether licensing a cull would be part of a raft of measures to tackle the disease. Read more

Four-drug fixed dose pill as effective as separate drugs for TB

2011-05-24T14:10:00.002+05:30

(Source: APhA News, 24 May 2011)
In a parallel-group, open-label, noninferiority trial conducted between 2003 and 2008 in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, 1,585 adult patients with newly-diagnosed smear-positive pulmonary TB were randomized to receive daily treatment with four drugs (rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol) given as fixed dose combination or separately in the 8-week intensive treatment phase. A favorable treatment outcome was defined as a negative TB culture test 18 months after randomization. Read more

Badger cull will not curb TB in cattle, says Springwatch star

2011-05-24T14:07:00.002+05:30

(Source: Wales News, 24 March 2011)
Culling badgers is scientifically proven to be ineffective in reducing the spread of bovine TB, a high-profile naturalist has warned. Television presenter Chris Packham, who is opposed to the cull, made the claim ahead of the new series of popular programme Springwatch, which he will front. His co-presenter Kate Humble, who is also against a badger cull, said a solution must be found, adding that the issue was “not a welfare issue, [but] an economic one”. Read more

Integrating intesified case finding of tuberculosis into HIV care: an evaluation from rural Swaziland

2011-05-24T14:04:00.002+05:30

(Source: 7th Space Interactive News, 24 May 2011)
Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence in the world and the highest estimated tuberculosis incidence rate in the world. An estimated 80% of TB patients are also infected with HIV. TB detection through intensified case finding (ICF) has yet to become a routine aspect of integrated tuberculosis and HIV care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate implementation of ICF for TB into routine integrated tuberculosis and HIV care at 16 community clinics and one district hospital in Swaziland. Read more

Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in a low-incidence Italian region with high immigration rates: differences between not Italy-born and Italy-born TB cases

2011-05-24T11:39:00.001+05:30

(Source: 7th Space Interactive News, 24 May 2011)
Emilia Romagna, a northern Italian region, has a population of 4.27 million, of which 9.7% are immigrants. The objective of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) during the period 1996-2006 in not Italy-born compared to Italy-born cases.

Methods: Data was obtained from the Regional TB surveillance system, from where personal data, clinical features and risk factors of all notified TB cases were extracted. Read more

Incidence, risk factors and mortality of tuberculosis in Danish HIV patients 1995-2007

2011-05-24T11:27:00.003+05:30

(Source: 7th Space Interactive News, 24 May 2011)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection predisposes to tuberculosis (TB). We described incidence, risk factors and prognosis of TB in HIV-1 infected patients during pre (1995-1996), early (1997-1999), and late Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) (2000-2007) periods. Read more

Characteristics of tuberculosis patients at intake in Cambodia, two provinces in China, and Viet Nam

2011-05-24T11:23:00.002+05:30

(Source: 7th Space Interactive, 24 May 2011)
The tuberculosis register is a critical data source for the information system of national tuberculosis control programs. From the information in the tuberculosis case register, it is possible to extend the standard analysis of age and sex characteristics among sputum smear-positive cases to all tuberculosis case categories. National tuberculosis programs might utilize such information to identify problems related to referral and access to diagnosis and treatment. Read more

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 17-23 May 2011

2011-05-23T13:53:00.019+05:30

"Stigma is a major challenge in TB as well", said Anandi Yuvaraj. Dr Sachdeva from RNTCP said that stigma is a major issue especially among women. RNTCP study shows that stigma related to TB was reduced from 37% to 32%. Anandi Yuvaraj asked what were the indicators used to measure stigma reduction?. Read more

3- Drug stock-outs in India's AIDS programme
(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand)
“Last month TB drugs were not available at the DOTS centres in Delhi. Now PLHIV networks report that there are ARV drug supply interruptions in several states”, said Vikas Ahuja of Delhi Network of Positive People. “They are risking the lives of PLHIVs. Drug stock-outs at facility level may lead to HIV and TB drug resistance, which means that their treatment may stop working for them”, he adds. Read more

4- Moving beyond curative approaches
(Source: The Hindu, India)
Situating the prevention of tuberculosis within curative services is unlikely to lead to a reduction in the overall burden of the disease. Additional public health approaches are called for. Read more

5- Drug Misuse Blamed For TB Treatment Failures & Drug Resistance
(Source: Star Global Tribune, USA)
Tuberculosis (TB) is widely considered a public health concern and its treatment a public sector responsibility. But according to a study published today in the journal PLoS ONE, the private sector for TB treatment is ignored at our peril. Read more
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Watch these dates!

31 May: World No Tobacco Day
21 June: Pacific Health Summit, Seattle, USA
28 June: 4th Global Fund Partnership Forum Conference, Sao Paulo, Brasil
26-30 October: 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, Lille, France
8-11 July: 3rd Asia-Pacific Regional Union Conference on Lung Health, Hong Kong
6-8 June: National Tuberculosis Research Conference, Gondar, Ethiopia

USEFUL LINKS!
To download the 2010 report with new WHO data, Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, click here

To download or read the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015), click here
To download or read The Stop TB Strategy, click here

To subscribe to the global Stop-TB eForum, established by Health & Development Networks (HDN), and now managed by the Stop TB Partnership, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, send an email to: join-stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org

To download or read the Patients' Charter for Tuberculosis Care (PCTC), click here

To download or read the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC), click here

Know more about: Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION), AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), TB Alert, TB/HIV Care Association, TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), World Care Council, [to feature your organisation, send an email to: bobby@citizen-news.org]
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Produced voluntarily by: CNS Stop-TB Initiative, and Abhinav Bharat Foundation (ABF) - partners of Stop TB Partnership, with technical assistance from CNS News Monitoring Initiative (CNS-NMI)

New TB Treatment May Prevent Spread

2011-05-23T13:49:00.003+05:30

(Source: Citizens Report, 23 May 2011)
A new, simpler therapy for treating people at risk of developing tuberculosis may significantly aid in prevention of the disease. Patients who took a combination of two drugs only 12 times over three months did just as well as those who received the current recommended treatment, which requires 270 daily doses. Read more

TB patients get cheaper treatment

2011-05-23T13:46:00.005+05:30

(Source: New Vision News, 23 May 2011)
“The low-cost Microscopic Observed Technique is performed directly on sputum samples to diagnose TB. It is simple to implement, especially in the developing world,” Dr. Ian Clarke, the hospital proprietor, said in a statement. Read more

Drug stock-outs in India's AIDS programme

2011-05-21T17:34:00.002+05:30

(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), 21 May 2011)
“Last month TB drugs were not available at the DOTS centres in Delhi. Now PLHIV networks report that there are ARV drug supply interruptions in several states”, said Vikas Ahuja of Delhi Network of Positive People. “They are risking the lives of PLHIVs. Drug stock-outs at facility level may lead to HIV and TB drug resistance, which means that their treatment may stop working for them”, he adds. Read more

Badger cull may be called off following minister's admission that 'question mark' hangs over the plan

2011-05-21T17:01:00.003+05:30

(Source: The Telegraph, 21 May 2011)
Farmers are keen for the cull to go ahead during this summer, but although an announcement was due last month, the Government has yet to give the green light to the move, which is opposed by animal rights group.

Badgers tend to remain underground once the cold weather sets in around September, and a shoot is unlikely to be called during the winter breeding season, meaning that there is a very short window for the cull to take place this year. Read more

IRIN examines high risk of TB infection among health workers in Kenya

2011-05-20T14:18:00.002+05:30

(Source: Medical News, 20 May 2011)
IRIN examines tuberculosis among health care workers in Kenya, where "[s]afety equipment - including protective masks and proper waste disposal facilities - are rarely available in rural centres, something health workers say must be addressed urgently." Victor Were, a clinical official in western Kenya's Mumias town, "said the government urgently needed to address the issues of training health workers on risk reduction, provision of masks and ensure proper ventilation or even outdoor clinics to reduce the risk of infection," according to IRIN. Read more

ATS: TB Drugs Show Surprising Equality

2011-05-20T14:11:00.002+05:30

(Source: Med Page Today, 20 May 2011)
Two rifamycin derivatives had equal efficacy against pulmonary tuberculosis in an international, phase II trial, a researcher said here. Rifapentine (Priftin) and rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane) showed equal activity when they were added to standard therapy during the first eight weeks of treatment, according to Susan Dorman, MD, of Johns Hopkins University.

But the result was surprising because animal studies had suggested that rifapentine would be markedly better, Dorman said in a late-breaking abstract session at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society. Read more

Breakthrough in TB treatment

2011-05-20T14:05:00.003+05:30

(Source: Kjrh News, 20 May 2011)
Doctors may be able to successfully treat latent tuberculosis with far less medication than is required now, a new study found. Latent tuberculosis causes no symptoms but is treated with a daily dose of a drug for nine months, NBC reports. Researchers at Vanderbilt University found a three-month treatment combining two weekly medications was just as effective as the standard protocol of nine months. The Centers for Disease Control calls these findings the biggest breakthrough in treating TB since the 1960's. Read more

Farming minister says badger cull 'may not happen'

2011-05-20T14:02:00.004+05:30

(Source: BBC News, 20 May 2011)
A badger cull to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle may not happen, the farming minister has told the BBC. Badgers are blamed by many farmers for spreading the disease, resulting in thousands of cows being destroyed. The government was set to approve badger culling in England soon. However, in an interview for the Politics Show South West, minister Jim Paice said there was a "question-mark at this moment" over a cull. Read more

Agencies collaborate to stop the spread of tuberculosis

2011-05-20T13:02:00.003+05:30

(Source: Imperial Valley News, 20 May 2011)
Detainees are from all across the world and may have been exposed to contagious diseases like tuberculosis (TB). Often times, they have had limited access to health care. When they enter ICE custody, the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC), the agency's medical staff, must overcome those challenges to protect the health and safety of the detainee population. Read more

Malaria, AIDS and TB can be Targeted by Geographic Profiling

2011-05-20T12:56:00.004+05:30

(Source: Asian News International (ANI), 20 May 2011)
Geographic profiling, a technique used in the hunt for serial killers, can also help combat infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, says a new study. Geographic profiling is a statistical technique, which uses the locations of crimes to identify areas in which the serial criminal is most likely to live and work.

The technique was originally developed to help police prioritize suspects and has been successfully used by law enforcement agencies around the world. It was invented by Kim Rossmo, a former detective turned Professor of Criminal Justice, from Texas State University. Read more

Moving beyond curative approaches

2011-05-20T12:48:00.001+05:30

(Source: The Hindu, 20 May 2011)
The “Stop TB Strategy” is the World Health Organisation's latest plan to build on the success of the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course) campaign. It aims to dramatically reduce the global burden of the disease by 2015, in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

It plans to achieve this goal by providing universal access to high-quality diagnostic procedures and patient-centred treatment. It intends to pursue DOTS expansion and enhancement, address the concerns related to multi-drug resistance and those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), strengthen health systems, engage care providers, empower people and communities, and promote research. Read more

Landmark meeting of civil society with head of India's TB Programme

2011-05-19T14:09:00.002+05:30

(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), 19 May 2011)
On 10th May 2011 the new incoming head of India's national TB programme (formally called Revised National TB Control Programme - RNTCP) met the civil society for an open, informal and participatory interaction on a range of TB-related issues. Dr Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director General, Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Dr KS Sachdeva, Chief Medical Officer, RNTCP attended this interface with a range of civil society representatives to have a dialogue on key issues that emerged on TB care and control in India. Read more

Dialogue around TB and TB-HIV co-infection in India

2011-05-19T14:05:00.002+05:30

(Source: Citizen News Service (CNS), 19 May 2011)
Another civil society participant asked where are MDR-TB services available as the cost of MDR-TB treatment in private sector is very high at INR 15,000 per month (about USD 380). Dr Sachdeva from RNTCP said that MDR-TB services are available under RNTCP in 15 states, including Delhi. Leena from MSF requested RNTCP to let the civil society know where MDR-TB services are available so that this information can be disseminated widely. Dr Sachdeva from RNTCP further added that the MDR-TB services are free under RNTCP however, diagnosis has to be done through accredited laboratories only. Read more

Demand to extend latest benefits to all TB programme workers on contract

2011-05-19T14:02:00.002+05:30

(Source: The Hindu, 19 May 2011)
“Employees working on contract as part of the Revised National TB Control Programme in Delhi had gone on several protest strikes after which the Central Government recently decided to sanction additional leave, three months maternity leave with pay, medical facilities and the facility for contributory provident fund for them. But these benefits haven't been extended to the contractual workers in other parts of the country. Our job so far offered us nothing in terms of job security, health care benefits, pension or even compensation in case of death on duty,” said All-India TB Control Programme Employees Association chairman R. M. Tripathi. Read more

Crisp County Health Department investigates possible TB exposure at Crisp County High School

2011-05-19T11:15:00.002+05:30

(Source: Asian News International, 19 May 2011)
A new study involving an Indian-origin researcher has suggested that face masks worn by patients infected with tuberculosis (TB) may be able to significantly cut transmission rates to non-infected patients. The study was conducted in a specialized airborne infections research facility in South Africa, which was designed to allow study of methods to control the spread of TB. Transmission rates were measured using healthy guinea pigs exposed to infected patients. Read more

Eradicating TB from the Hauhungaroa Range

2011-05-19T11:13:00.002+05:30

(Source: Scoop News, 19 May 2011)
The Animal Health Board (AHB) will begin aerial bovine tuberculosis (TB) control in the Hauhungaroa Range this week. This control work is weather dependent and follows the recent application of non-toxic cereal pellets to attract possums to the toxic bait.

The Hauhungaroa Range aerial operation is the first of several targeted areas across New Zealand, where the AHB will endeavour to eradicate TB from wildlife, mainly possums, over the next 15 years. This is an objective of the AHB’s revised national TB control strategy, which aims to eradicate the disease from herds and wildlife across 2.5 million hectares of New Zealand known to contain TB-infected wildlife. Read more

TB spread: Blame it on maids

2011-05-19T11:11:00.001+05:30

(Source: The Times of India, 19 May 2011)
Private practitioner Dr S Gandhok, who has been working on TB cases in the city since 1996, said, ''The instances are on the rise. I recall the case of a maid who developed the resistant form of TB. Her work involved babysitting. When we traced her contacts and the area where she worked, we found that these children had contracted the disease.''

The city has seen 22,000 TB cases since 2002. ''Out of 100 TB cases, 12-15 develop the drug-resistant form. This can be due to not completing the six-month TB course. We advise screening of maids and workers,'' added Dr Garg. Explaining the transmission, Dr Bedi said, ''Unlike slum dwellers, our resistance is better and we are immunized too. But the bacterium of this TB is so strong that it can easily surpass that.'' Read more

Study finds three-month TB treatment regimen just as effective as standard longer course

2011-05-19T11:09:00.001+05:30

(Source: Medical News, 19 May 2011)
According to a study, which was presented at a medical meeting on Monday, patients with latent TB "who took a combination of two drugs just 12 times over three months fared as well as those who received the standard treatment that requires 270 daily doses," Reuters reports (Berkrot, 5/17). "In the study, begun 10 years ago, researchers enrolled 8,053 people with latent TB, most living in the U.S. and Canada, though some were in Brazil and Spain. Read more

US study finds easier way to prevent tuberculosis

2011-05-19T11:07:00.003+05:30

(Source: The Dawn, 19 May 2011)
US health officials say they have found a far simpler therapy for people at risk of developing tuberculosis, addressing a key barrier to preventing the spread of the disease. Patients who took a combination of two drugs just 12 times over three months fared as well as those who received the standard treatment that requires 270 daily doses, according to a landmark US government study released on Monday.

“New, simpler ways to prevent TB disease are urgently needed, and this breakthrough represents one of the biggest developments in TB treatment in decades,” Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. Read more

Once-Weekly as Effective as Daily Therapy for Latent TB

2011-05-19T11:04:00.001+05:30

(Source: Med Scape News, 19 May 2011)
An international Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-sponsored clinical trial on the prevention of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection — the PREVENT TB trial — has shown that a once-weekly regimen of rifapentine and isoniazid for just 3 months is as effective as a standard self-administered 9-month daily regimen of isoniazid alone, and has a significantly higher completion rate, according to research presented here at the American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference. Read more

Leaders told to dwell on TB‚ HIV/AIDS control

2011-05-18T17:02:00.001+05:30

(Source: The Himalayan Times, 18 May 2011)
Political leaders should hold intensive discussions on controlling TB and HIV/AIDS, which are the main threat to public health in Nepal, should be intensified across the country to meet the Millennium Development Goal.

Speakers said this at a programme organised by Himalayan Social Welfare Organisation to inform Constituent Assembly members about the two diseases. They maintained that top leaders should openly discuss about ways to control HIV/AIDS and TB. Read more

Drug Misuse Blamed For TB Treatment Failures & Drug Resistance

2011-05-18T16:40:00.002+05:30

(Source: Star Global Tribune, 18 May 2011)
Tuberculosis (TB) is widely considered a public health concern and its treatment a public sector responsibility. But according to a study published today in the journal PLoS ONE, the private sector for TB treatment is ignored at our peril. Across 10 high-burden countries, there is as much TB drug volume in the private sector as in the public sector—and at least a third of all private sector dosages of first-line TB drugs fall outside of national and international treatment recommendations. Any resulting drug misuse could be responsible for many treatment failures and for escalating the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), which is further worsening the TB epidemic. Read more

Researchers hail breakthrough in treatment of latent TB

2011-05-18T15:28:00.002+05:30

(Source: North County Times, 18 May 201 1)
In what is being hailed as the biggest breakthrough since the 1960s in treatment for latent tuberculosis — uninfectious TB without symptoms — researchers said Monday that weekly doses of a cocktail of antibiotics can cure the infection in only three months as effectively as the standard treatment of daily drugs for nine months.

By reducing the number of pills and shortening the time required for therapy, the new regimen increased the proportion of patients who completed treatment from 69 percent to 82 percent. By increasing the success rate of therapy, the regimen should reduce spread of the disease and the risk of inducing resistance to TB drugs, experts said. Read more

Simple Face Masks Could Significantly Prevent Spread of TB to Non-Infected Patients

2011-05-18T14:59:00.002+05:30

(Source: ICT News, 18 May 2011)
“We found that when infectious patients with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) wore face masks while they were hospitalized, the face masks helped decrease the transmission of tuberculosis by 50 percent compared to when the patients did not wear face masks,” says study author Ashwin Dharmadhikari, MD, associate physician at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham &Women’s Hospital. “Simply put, face masks were able to cut tuberculosis transmission in half.” Read more

Easing of farming regulations could allow milk from TB-infected cattle into food chain

2011-05-18T14:55:00.002+05:30

(Source: The Guardian News, 18 May 2011)
The prospect of products from potentially TB-infected animals being sold to consumers would represent a marked change from current policy. Not all cows that test positive for TB are carriers of the disease, as other infections can also lead to a positive result, and pasteurisation should kill any TB bacteria that could be present in milk.

Under current rules, however, all animals that test positive are slaughtered and compensation paid, and their milk prevented from reaching the food chain. These rules exist partly because some farmers have attempted to relabel their cattle as TB-free by swapping cows with other herds, and because "raw" or unpasteurised milk can legally be sold in the UK, meaning that raw milk from TB cattle could enter the food chain if the rules are not well enough enforced. Read more

For want of a mask – how TB targets health workers

2011-05-18T14:51:00.001+05:30

(Source: IRIN News, 18 May 2011)
"Health personnel cannot stop treating or offering services to patients even without these [safety] commodities and during that time, they risk getting infected by the very patients they treat, so it is [down to] us as the government to ensure facilities don't run out - at times stock-outs do occur and this is due to procurement challenges, which makes it hard to expedite the delivery of these commodities to health facilities," said Joseph Sitienei, head of the National Leprosy and TB Control Programme. "Sometimes health facilities delay in requesting these much-needed materials and only do so when they completely run out. Read more

Ifugao steps up drive against TB

2011-05-18T14:49:00.001+05:30

(Source: PIA News, 18 May 2011)
The Provincial Health Office together with the Philippine Coalition Against TB (PhilCAT) recently conducted a training on the standards of tuberculosis (TB) to health care workers of this municipality to bolster the fight of the government against the dreaded scourge of the disease.

With the purpose of fighting TB through a united action and the harmonization of practices among care providers, more than 100 participants composed of barangay health workers, care providers, midwives, doctors, and nurses of the municipality attended the thee-day seminar workshop held at the Lamut Grassroots Savings and Credit Development Cooperative (LAGSADECO) training center. Read more

New Latent TB Combo Treatment Easier, As Effective, Necessary

2011-05-18T14:46:00.002+05:30

(Source: Medical News Today, 18 May 2011)
Latent tuberculosis, or latent TB, often leads to full blown active tuberculosis. Until now, patients have had to ingest approximately 270 doses of a single drug over a nine month period which can be a painstaking procedure. However now, after a decade of trials, a new combo therapy involving two drugs taken 12 times over three months may do the same job. In addition the shorter regiment was easier for patients to complete, adding to its effectiveness. Read more

Ask Dr. Hallberg: New treatment for latent tuberculosis

2011-05-18T14:44:00.002+05:30

(Source: MPR News, 18 May 2011)
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might change the way doctors treat latent tuberculosis, the noninfectious type of the disease found in about 11 million Americans. The study found that an easier, shorter treatment for latent tuberculosis may prevent those cases from becoming active. Active tuberculosis produces symptoms and is highly contagious.

MPR medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg discussed the study's implications Tuesday on All Things Considered with host Tom Crann. Hallberg is a physician in family medicine at the University of Minnesota and director of the Mill City Clinic in Minneapolis. Read more

New study shows treatment for latent TB can be cut dramatically

2011-05-17T17:41:00.002+05:30

(Source: Denver Post News, 17 May 2011)
Treating latent tuberculosis normally requires nine months of daily pill-taking, but a new study shows that a far shorter course of medication, with once-a-week drugs, works just as well. The study will greatly simplify the lives of about 300,000 Americans who undergo the treatment each year, and the new regimen may reduce the number of cases of active TB.

"This is the biggest breakthrough in the treatment of latent TB since the 1960s," said Kevin Fenton, head of tuberculosis prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more

ATS: Rapid Treatment Effective for Latent TB

2011-05-17T17:37:00.002+05:30

(Source: Med Page Today, 17 May 2011)
The shorter course is now a useful alternative to the controversial isoniazid regimen, which has been the standard therapy for people with latent TB who are at risk of active disease, Sterling said at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society.

The isoniazid regimen, although efficacious in clinical trials, is less so in real life, because often less than 50% of patients complete therapy. And some physicians fear that its use could promote TB drug resistance if it is inadvertently given to patients with active tuberculosis rather than latent infection. Read more

No ongoing TB risk at Portland school

2011-05-17T17:35:00.001+05:30

(Source: MSN News, 17 May 2011)
"The health department is continuing to review the results of the TB tests," Oxman said, "and is assuring students, families and faculty that the school is safe and that there is no ongoing risk of TB infection. About 10 percent of the tested students were infected, but Oxamn said "a positive test does not mean that the person has TB disease or that they will develop TB disease." Read more

CDC hails breakthrough on latent tuberculosis

2011-05-17T17:25:00.001+05:30

(Source: Det News, 17 May 2011)
Health officials on Monday celebrated a faster treatment for people who have tuberculosis but aren't infectious, after investigators found a new combination of pills knocks out the disease in three months instead of nine. That means more people are likely to finish their treatment for latent tuberculosis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said.

"New, simpler ways to prevent TB disease are urgently needed, and this breakthrough represents one of the biggest developments in TB treatment in decades," Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC director, said. Read more

U.S. study finds easier way to prevent tuberculosis

2011-05-17T17:00:00.002+05:30

(Source: MSN News, 17 May 2011)
"New, simpler ways to prevent TB disease are urgently needed, and this breakthrough represents one of the biggest developments in TB treatment in decades," Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement.

The far less onerous regimen involves taking rifapentine, an antibiotic sold by French drugmaker Sanofi under the brand name Priftin, along with isoniazid, an effective tuberculosis drug in use since the 1950s. The study results, presented at a medical meeting on Monday, could mark a major advance in preventing TB in countries with low-to-medium incidence of the highly infectious disease, according to the CDC, which sponsored the study. Read more

Latent tuberculosis in nursing professionals of a Brazilian hospital

2011-05-17T10:50:00.001+05:30

(Source: 7th Space Interactive News, 17 May 2011)
Tuberculosis (TB) is considered an occupational disease among health-care workers (HCWs). Direct contact with TB patients leads to an increased risk to become latently infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of latent infection by M. tuberculosis among nursing professionals of a hospital from Rio Grande do Sul, assessed by tuberculin skin test (TST). Read more

CNS Stop-Tuberculosis (TB) Initiative

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 2 - 8 September 2011

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 18- 25 July 2011

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 29 June - 5 July 2011

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 22 - 28 June 2011

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 16 - 21 June 2011

Infertility problem could be because of tuberculosis

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 9 - 15 June 2011

Scientists Launch Vaccine Research Foundation

Closures will increase TB threat to Aust

Manipur first in region to test multi drug-resistant tuberculosis

A TB centre in Ojha that doesn’t believe in just treating the illness

TB spread: Blame it on maids

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 31 May - 6 June 2011

Farmers at risk of contracting tuberculosis

Involving industry in the fight against TB

Refugees Can Be Effectively Treated To Prevent Tuberculo

Ray of Hope for TB Patients

Calls to keep Torres Strait TB clinics open

Online TB diagnosis picking up: study

TB Conference Opens in Kigali

TB vaccines: getting them out of the lab

Force of tuberculosis infection among adolescents in a high HIV and TB prevalence community: a cross-sectional observation study

TB clinic shutdown exposes islanders

Four being treated for TB in Ross

Tuberculosis Expert Joins Oxford Immunotec as Senior Scientific Advisor

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 24-30 May 2011

Tuberculosis Spreading In France

High tuberculosis incidence: Alarm bells ring for Punjab

Pak ranks 6th among high TB risk countries

HAAD enforces new standards to combat TB

Emory University Hospital’s Employee Diagnosed of TB

Hospital worker may have exposed almost 700 patients to TB

TB Infected Worker Exposes Hundreds At Emory University Hospital, USA

Tuberculosis in HIV/AIDS infected persons

Link between diabetes and increased risk of tuberculosis reported

Type 2 diabetes patients may be more likely to contract tuberculosis

Diabetics have up to 5 times higher risk of developing tuberculosis

Nature Perspective Offers 2020 Vision of Vaccines for Malaria, TB & HIV/AIDS

150,000 unsafe water bottles hit market daily

347 contract TB in Zamfara

Zimbabwe Struggles to Slow Mounting Incidence of Deadly Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis on the rise in France

France's last TB sanatorium combats illness that should have disappeared

Failure to complete treatment slowing down war on Tuberculosis

Former Ramsey County inmate with TB sues

Diabetics at higher risk of developing TB

Promising TB vaccine candidate progresses to Phase I clinical trials

Study: diabetics have greater risk of contracting tuberculosis

County cuts tuberculosis screening to state minimum to save money

PET Scans Predict Effectiveness of Treatment for Multidrug-Resistant TB in HIV Patients

World Medical Association Expands TB Training For Physicians

Many products of extramural research by ICMR up for grabs for industry

North Wales vigilant after TB outbreak

Invergordon South Lodge Primary pupil confirmed TB case

UTHealth Researchers Find Diabetics At Higher Risk Of Tuberculosis Infection

Diabetics 'at higher risk of TB'

Inmates lead the fight against TB in Zambia's prisons

We still haven't made a decision on culling of badgers, says Government

Four-drug fixed dose pill as effective as separate drugs for TB

Badger cull will not curb TB in cattle, says Springwatch star

Integrating intesified case finding of tuberculosis into HIV care: an evaluation from rural Swaziland

Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in a low-incidence Italian region with high immigration rates: differences between not Italy-born and Italy-born TB cases

Incidence, risk factors and mortality of tuberculosis in Danish HIV patients 1995-2007

Characteristics of tuberculosis patients at intake in Cambodia, two provinces in China, and Viet Nam

CNS Stop-TB News Monitor: 17-23 May 2011

New TB Treatment May Prevent Spread

TB patients get cheaper treatment

Drug stock-outs in India's AIDS programme

Badger cull may be called off following minister's admission that 'question mark' hangs over the plan

IRIN examines high risk of TB infection among health workers in Kenya

ATS: TB Drugs Show Surprising Equality

Breakthrough in TB treatment

Farming minister says badger cull 'may not happen'

Agencies collaborate to stop the spread of tuberculosis

Malaria, AIDS and TB can be Targeted by Geographic Profiling

Moving beyond curative approaches

Landmark meeting of civil society with head of India's TB Programme

Dialogue around TB and TB-HIV co-infection in India

Demand to extend latest benefits to all TB programme workers on contract

HAAD enforces new standards to combat TB