The tuberculosis vaccine (or BCG vaccine) does not protect the elderly with co-morbidities against disease symptoms caused by a coronavirus infection. This was reported in the BCG-PRIME study which was initiated during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when no vaccines against the virus were available. As a collaborative effort, the study was designed and conducted in a very short time in 20 Dutch hospitals led by UMC Utrecht. After the main findings were released in 2021, the full results of the study were published this week in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

Treatment Action Group launches the 2022 Tuberculosis Treatment Pipeline Report.

Yes! We Can End TB.
The theme brings attention to TB and that it is in our collective power to end TB by 2030 and therefore reach the Sustainable Development Goals.

NEW YORK (January 31, 2023)—The 2022 G-FINDER Report, released today, reveals that for the year 2021, global funding for the development of critical new health technologies to overcome the world’s deadliest neglected diseases remained woefully inadequate and largely stagnant. Specifically, global investments in tuberculosis (TB) research and development (R&D) totaled $723 million in 2021, comparable to last year’s total and far short of the $2.16 billion estimated by Stop TB Partnership as needed annually to develop and deliver the suite of drug regimens, vaccines, and diagnostics that can end the TB pandemic. TB is regaining its dubious distinction as the world’s deadliest infectious disease, with more than 10 million people afflicted and 1.6 million dying each year.  

31 January 2023: WHO is announcing the publicly accessible global individual patient data (IPD) platform for tuberculosis treatment (TB-IPD), an initiative that will increase the knowledge base for normative guidance on optimal treatment modalities for tuberculosis (TB) and stimulate TB research. 

New Delhi: The Indian Patent Office had held its final hearing on a challenge filed by two tuberculosis survivors to prevent the Indian arm of drugmaker Johnson & Johnson from extending its patent on bedaquiline, used against drug-resistant TB, beyond the primary patent’s expiry in July.

Findings from a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study in animal models show that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antibiotic regimen for multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) may not work for TB meningitis. Studies in a small number of people also provide evidence that a new combination of drugs is needed to develop effective treatments for TB meningitis due to MDR strains.

According to the World Health Organization, of the roughly 10 million people who fall ill with TB annually, over 80% survive, in most cases due to a six-month treatment course. Unfortunately, as with long COVID, being cured is not always the last hurdle and many people go on to struggle with post-TB lung disease.

January 26, 2023 -- Researchers in India have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) model for detecting active tuberculosis on chest x-rays, and they suggest that the approach offers significant potential for real-world applications in locations with limited resources.

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