TB IN THE NEWS

• Tuberculosis deaths rising again in Europe - WHO
• US tuberculosis cases nearing pre-pandemic levels, CDC data shows
• Managing Tuberculosis Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
  
• Hopes fizzle that a TB vaccine also fends off COVID
  
• Mortality high for patients with concurrent TB, COVID-19
• A Century-Old Vaccine Fails to Protect Against Covid
• Post-TB health and wellbeing
• How push from survivors and an HIV support group led to a cheaper tuberculosis drug

• Scaling up evidence-based approaches to tuberculosis screening in prisons​

Read lots more TB news on our website page  ‘From TB Wire’!

EVENTS, MEETINGS, & CONFERENCES
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1. May 15th-17th – TBTC Holds Spring Meeting 
   
   CDC's Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC) Spring Meeting will be held virtually and in-person from May 15-17, 2023. Consortium members will provide updates, discuss plans for studies, and learn about developments in TB clinical research.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. ​​May 19th-24th – ATS Conference
   
   Check out the Program at a Glance page on the ATS Conference website.
   
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3. May 22nd, 1:15-2:15PM: ATS 2023 International Participants Center Program.
   
   Rethinking Infectious Disease Transmission: Aerobiology and its Impact on TB and Covid-19 Airborne Transmission and Environmental Controls
   
   Recent advances in Aerobiology have dramatically altered our understanding of Infectious Disease transmission. This session will focus on airborne transmission of serious infectious diseases. Major advances in aero biology and air disinfection technology, the impact of climate change on transmission of infectious diseases such as TB and COVID-19, and the key recommendations form the new airborne isolation guidelines will be discussed.
   
   Understanding COVID-19 transmission has been instrumental in designing public health policies and interventions. This session is designed to impart the state-of-the-art in Aerobiology.
   
   Learning outcomes:
   
                1.   Describe new advances in the understanding of factors that lead to airborne transmission of TB and COVID-19
                2.   Describe the effects of global warming on the transmission of airborne infectious diseases
                3.   Describe the key recommendations from the new airborne isolation guidelines for tuberculosis
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   Panel Discussion Program:
   
   Chair (s): Sundari R. Mase, MD; David M. Lewinsohn, MD, PhD, ATSF
   
   
   
4. Outside Organization Session. L2. Updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tools for clinicians
   
   New tools from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control presented will help clinical providers and researchers to identify local populations among whom tuberculosis and chronic pulmonary disease risk is highest, to better understand demographic differences in risk within their local area, to communicate effectively with patients, and to use an updated approach to monitoring medication adherence. These tools and resources will enhance health screenings and patient outcomes.
   
   
   
5. June 12th-15th – National TB Conference in Atlanta, GA!​

HIGHLIGHTED TB REPORTS/UPDATES

• TB is Still Here – New CDC Data Show U.S. Cases Increased Again in 2022
• With TB Response Rebounding from the COVID-19 Pandemic Downturn, Prime Minister Modi Marks the Start of a New Era on World TB Day: Yes! We Can End TB
• TB Faded During Covid But Now It’s Back, CDC Data Shows
• Validation of rapid, molecular testing for COVID-19 and integration with TB diagnostics
• Short, Effective Drug-Resistant TB Treatment for All Starts Here!
• WHO Director-General Flagship Initiative to #ENDTB 2023-2027 
• Ending Tuberculosis - the role of Europe in responding to growing challenges

• Need for increased global attention on maternal TB: Global TB Report inclusion
  

Read more reports and updates on our website page ‘From TB Wire’!

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TB RESOURCES
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• How One Immune Cell Directs Another To Aid Tuberculosis Control
• Use of Incentives and Enablers in Tuberculosis Treatment 
• Recommendations for Use of Video Directly Observed Therapy During Tuberculosis Treatment — United States, 2023
• TB Treatment Trial Results in Context for Communities 
  
• Myths, misconceptions, and half-truths about TB
  

Find more TB resources on our website page ‘TB Resources’!

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JOURNAL ARTICLES

• Bidirectional screening and testing for TB and COVID-19 among outpatient department attendees: outcome of an initial intervention in Ghana
  
• Therapeutic Failure and Acquired Bedaquiline and Delamanid Resistance in Treatment of Drug-Resistant TB
  
• Striking fair deals for equitable access to medicines 
  
• Symptoms and Systemic Drug Reactions in Persons Receiving Weekly Rifapentine Plus Isoniazid (3HP) Treatment for Latent Tuberculosis Infection
  
• Perspectives of TB survivors and policymakers on post-TB disability
  
• Integrating TB screening into house-to-house polio vaccination campaigns
  
• At Long Last: Short, All-Oral Regimens for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the United States
  
• The effect of medication event reminder monitoring on treatment adherence of TB patients
  
• Identifying gaps in the cascade of care for latent TB infection in a low-incidence setting
  
• Challenges associated with electronic and in-person directly observed therapy during a randomized trial
  
• Epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and management of TB in patients with HIV and diabetes
  
• Factors associated with adverse drug reactions or death in very elderly hospitalized patients with pulmonary tuberculosis
  
  

Discover many more peer-reviewed articles on our website page ‘Peer-Reviewed Publications’ !

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TB Wire past issues: 2023, 2022 

MAY 2023

GREETINGS!

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, which is a great time to highlight some of our amazing collaborators on the CDC-funded TB Elimination Alliance (TEA, https://tbeliminationalliance.org/) – Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO, https://aapcho.org/) and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF, https://www.apiahf.org/). We are so thrilled to be working with you to help empower communities most impacted by TB work to #EndTB!! You can use this Heritage month as a hook to write a letter to the editor of your local paper to get help educate your fellow community members about key next actions we need to take toward #TBelimination. Find a simple guide to help you draft your letter here.

DC UPDATE
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The End TB Now Act has been reintroduced in the Senate and the House with new bill numbers H.1776/S.288!! Please ask your Senators to co-sponsor this important bill that came soooooo close to passing (with lots of bipartisan support) last year! Special thanks to Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) and Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) for being the lead sponsors! Call or write your members of Congress to ask they co-sponsor the End TB Now Act today: 

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121 and ask for your senator/representative or give your state if you do not know their name. When you are connected to an office, ask for the Health Legislative Assistant. If you leave a voicemail message, include your name, phone number, and email so that they can respond. 

Sample message: I am a constituent from (your town) and I am calling to urge Sen./Rep.___ to co-sponsor the End Tuberculosis Now Act of 2023. The bill outlines a plan and critical actions to align tuberculosis efforts in the U.S. with international efforts. TB, an airborne infectious disease, was the leading global infectious disease killer prior to COVID-19, and when the COVID pandemic is muted, TB will be the leading infectious killer once again. TB cases are rising across the globe. The End TB Now Act will amplify our ability to end TB as a public health threat. I urge Sen./Rep. ___ to cosponsor this very important bill. Thank you for your consideration.

Stop TB USA
stoptbusa.org
leadership@stoptbusa.org
2452 Spring Rd., SE Smyrna GA 30080 USA

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COURSES/WORKSHOPS

1. Understanding TB Laboratory Testing for Public Health Nurses:
   
   ​The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated to develop an online course, “Understanding TB Laboratory Testing for Public Health Nurses”  to help TB nurses and clinicians learn about TB laboratory testing best practices. 
   
   The course will aid in communicating effectively and timely with the patient, clinician, and laboratory. To learn more visit APHL.
   
   
2. CDC Hosts TB Program Managers’ Course 
   
   CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination hosted the 2023 Tuberculosis (TB) Program Managers’ Course in Atlanta on April 11-14. The TB Program Managers’ Course is designed for TB program managers, nurse consultants, public health advisors, and TB controllers who have program management responsibilities. The event was attended by 54 TB program managers from state and city TB programs. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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   Customised training with The Union
   
   International course on the clinical management of drug-resistant tuberculosis 2023
   
   
   

• Customised training with The Union
• International course on the clinical management of drug-resistant tuberculosis 2023
  
• Cours international sur la lutte contre la tuberculose 2023
  

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Check out our latest addition to our website: an archive of past TB Wire editions for your reference!

Learn more about upcoming exciting events below! Our very own Dr. Sundari Mase and Dr. David Lewinsohn will be chairing a panel discussion during the ATS 2023 International Participants Center Program.

​Stop TB USA: Where we unite to #EndTB!

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