Local researchers hope to end TB re-infection if a new TB vaccine candidate is successful. It was proven to be safe and induced an immune response in patients.

TB and viral hepatitis co-infections and advanced HIV disease (AHD) put the lives of people living with HIV at risk, and interventions to address these must be prioritized by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and reflected in its funding allocations. The development of FY2021 Country Operational Plans (COPs) provides a critical opportunity for advocates to ensure that the latest developments in preventing, diagnosing, and treating co-infections and AHD are implemented within PEPFAR programs.

NEW YORK (December 15, 2020)—TB Alliance announced that on December 1, 2020 the first dose was administered to a patient as part of a new Phase 1 study of its novel compound TBAJ-587 in healthy adult volunteers. New treatment options are urgently needed, especially as there is growing resistance to available drugs to treat tuberculosis (TB).

As the world comes together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to ensure that essential health services and operations are continued to protect the lives of people with TB and other diseases or health conditions. Health services, including national programmes to combat TB, need to be actively engaged in ensuring an effective and rapid response to COVID-19 while ensuring that TB services are maintained.  

The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is the official publication of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).

North Korea has yet to report a single case of COVID-19—a remarkable success that, if true, the nation achieved after severing links with the outside world. But that isolation could soon exact a steep toll in other areas of public health: Humanitarian groups warn the isolated country is facing eroding food security, and they are bracing for a rapid spread of tuberculosis (TB), as supplies of first-line drugs against more treatable strains are expected to run out this month.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking applicants to serve on the WHO Civil Society Task Force on TB with a deadline of 30 December 2020. Two civil society representatives will be selected; they are expected to serve until end December 2022. The aim of the Task Force is to intensify the voice of civil society in ending TB at all levels.

As much as 80% of adults in the Western Cape may at some point have been infected with the tuberculosis (TB) bacterium. While estimates are uncertain, rates are believed to be high in the rest of the country as well, with likely millions of people having been infected with TB. Most people’s bodies, however, manage to suppress the infection and they do not actually fall ill. People who have been infected but who do not fall ill are traditionally classified as having latent TB infection.

Recently Tuberculosis has published the article The TB vaccine development pathway – An innovative approach to accelerating global TB vaccine development. The publication emphasizes the importance of a diverse TB vaccine pipeline to address the TB-specific challenges. Individual vaccine candidates must be advanced rationally and the global pipeline must be managed in the most nimble and resource-efficient way, especially in the current constrained funding environment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will host a webinar on 18 December 2020 on the implementation of the Multisectoral accountability framework to accelerate progress to end TB by 2030 (MAF-TB).