The United Nations has become a focal point for global efforts to fight organised crime’s trafficking of fraudulent medicines that put millions of people – especially the poor – at risk. And a recent pharmaceutical industry report on such medicines recommended some solutions.

Low IFN-γ plus high TNF-α in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may predict tuberculous meningitis immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in people with HIV and thus offer guidance on whether to start or defer antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV-positive people with tuberculous meningitis.

The document describes the early evidence on use of the tool – including research findings and modeling results – and provides algorithms for the management of people living with HIV and with presumptive TB.

Since the introduction of effective chemotherapy, many changes have come about in the management of tuberculosis (TB). Most important have been the shift from sanatoria-based to general hospital and clinic-based treatment and the knowledge that active disease can reliably be prevented among those who are latently infected. With the development of effective drugs for TB, the significant advances in bacteriology, and increased knowledge about the treatment of latent TB infection, the approach to tuberculosis control has become increasingly sophisticated.

Together with the website Take That TB, Treatment Action Group has created a listserv to connect TB and MDR-TB survivors and patients interested in conducting advocacy and connecting with others in this community.

The participants in a workshop convened last week by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership have proposed a set of goals and targets to guide the global fight against TB after 2015.

A new form of genetic testing of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis can provide better information on TB transmission and also trace TB outbreaks more accurately than the current standard test, according to a study from Germany published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

Please can you give a brief introduction to tuberculosis (TB)?

Special edition to mark World TB day maps new issues and approaches to curbing spread of infection

HIV & AIDS treatment in practice (HATIP) is a regular email newsletter for healthcare workers and community-based organisations on HIV treatment in resource-limited settings.