TBnet webinar
Today, 26 September at 17:30 CEST the TBnet webinar "Updates on TB in children: immunocompromised host and drug resistance”
More information and free registration:
Another webinar today: UNITE4TB webinar
Expert interview: Management of adverse events in TB care
26 September 2024 at 13:00-14:00 CEST
Speaker: Dr Simon Tiberi (GSK, UK)
More information and registration: https://www.unite4tb.org/newsroom/unite4tb-webinar-management-adverse-events-tb-care
TBnet Annual Meeting
On 6 September the TBnet Annual Meeting 2024 took place in the Klinik Penzing in beautiful Vienna, Austria.
The meeting was attended by 54 members onsite and 40 online. We were welcomed by the team of the Klinik Penzing and representatives of the Austrian Tuberculosis Society.
During the meeting, we heard updates about the activities of TBnet in the past year, including publications, webinars, newsletter and social media, TBnet Academy, participation in UNITE4TB, and met the winner of the TBnet Photo Competition. We also heard brief updates from ptbnet and NTMnet, our sister organisations. A large part of the meeting was devoted to updates on TBnet studies: planned, ongoing, and completed. The meeting was concluded by a keynote lecture on TB and associated fungal diseases and a tour around the historic site of the Klinik Penzing.
It was a day full of great presentations, fruitful discussions, dozens of new ideas, and the atmosphere of exchange and support.
We are grateful to our hosts and everyone involved in the organisation of this year’s meeting. Thank you everyone who joined us in person or online, we hope to see you soon at other TBnet events!
UNITE4TB: Joint call for sustainable investment in AMR and TB R&D
The threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and TB is growing, but innovative research projects like UNITE4TB are helping to lead the charge in developing new treatments.
Under the umbrella of the AMR Accelerator and funded by the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), UNITE4TB is pushing the boundaries of TB research with cutting-edge clinical trials. Sustainable investment is crucial to continue this life-saving work. Ahead of this year's UN High-Level Meeting on AMR, UNITE4TB is joining its fellow AMR Accelerator partners in underscoring the urgency of maintaining expertise and capabilities to develop new treatments for AMR, TB, and other infectious diseases.
Read about these efforts in the joint call to action:
Comment in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-024-00138-9
Essential TB read
This month, the World Health Organization issued two important documents:
Updated guidelines on tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT). The updated guidelines feature one new strong recommendation on levofloxacin daily for 6 months as an option for TPT among individuals exposed to multidrug- and rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB). It also incorporates relevant recommendations released by WHO since the publication of the previously released WHO TPT guidelines in 2020. The guidelines also streamline other recommendations with the aim of enhancing clarity and adoption by national programmes. In support of the TPT guidelines, WHO has also updated the operational handbook on TPT.
More information: https://www.who.int/news/item/09-09-2024-who-releases-updated-guidelines-on-tuberculosis-preventive-treatment
Diagnosis of tuberculosis and detection of drug-resistance: rapid communication. In this rapid communication, the World Health Organization (WHO) is announcing updates on the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), with a focus on concurrent use of tests in adults and adolescents living with HIV and in children, including in children living with HIV:
concurrent use of molecular test on respiratory samples and LF-LAM on urine for diagnosis of TB in adults and adolescents with HIV has improved accuracy and moderate cost requirements compared with single testing;
concurrent use of molecular test on respiratory specimens and stool for diagnosis of TB in children has improved accuracy and moderate cost requirements compared with single testing;
concurrent use of molecular test on respiratory samples, stool, and LF-LAM on urine in children living with HIV has improved accuracy and moderate cost requirements compared with single testing;
two new diagnostic classes have been established: low complexity automated nucleic acid amplification tests (LC-aNAATs) and low complexity manual nucleic acid amplification tests (LC-mNAATs).
More information: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/B09111
TBnet News
Editor – Irina Kontsevaya
Layout & formatting – Liga Rusmane
Cover picture –Krystyna Rivera
Comments