To mark European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD), WHO/Europe and its partners are holding a live Twitter chat on antibiotic resistance. Experts from WHO/Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Commission directorates-general for research and for health and consumers will answer your questions.

Results from a Phase III trial that attempted to shorten the treatment duration for drug-sensitive pulmonary TB from four to six months, by using gatifloxacin instead of ethambutol, showed that the shortened treatment duration was inferior when compared to the standard treatment course. Results from the OFLOTUB trial were presented earlier this month at the 44th World Conference on Lung Health in Paris.

GENEVA – The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria concluded its 30th meeting today with a firm endorsement of efforts leading to the Fourth Voluntary Replenishment Conference to be hosted by the United States Government in Washington D.C. on 2-3 December 2013.

On Tuesday, the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) published “a new fact sheet [.pdf] outlining the important contributions the U.S. government has made to global health [research and development (R&D)] and why it’s critical the United States continues to robustly support the global health research pipeline,” Nick Taylor, GHTC’s senior program assistant, writes in the group’s “Breakthroughs” blog. “Increased investments in global health research by the United States have the potential to increase the amount of tools combating global diseases,” he writes and summarizes some of the fact sheet’s data. “U.S. leaders should seize upon the recent successes in global health R&D and pass a long-term budget that ensures America’s legacy as a leader in innovation and science is not forgotten,” he concludes (11/5).

Analytic report “Implementation of TRIPS-flexibilities to improve access to medicines in Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine” was developed to inform all parties concerned about possible ways of ARV price decreasing and understanding the importance of legislation changes guaranteeing access to ARV.

The government’s policy on intellectual property (IP), currently under discussion, would seek to strike a balance between the needs of public health and the interests of innovative pharmaceutical companies, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Tuesday.

ANYANG, South Korea, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Koreans are exposed to serious health risks as the country tries to cope with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the head of a local charity group said Friday.

Phase 2 of a TB grant to Namibia will address gaps in treatment success rates, case finding, and coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV-positive TB patients. To accomplish this, more emphasis will be placed on the provision of community-based TB care and TB/HIV services, and on activities related to multiple-drug-resistant TB (MDR TB), including patient support.

Public Health Action is The Union's free access, online journal which aims to promote the vision of The Union, Health solutions for the poor, by disseminating new knowledge on health systems and health services for vulnerable groups, with a priority on tuberculosis, lung health, non-communicable diseases and related public health issues.

“Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.” — H. James Harrington.