People who use and inject illicit drugs are at high risk of contracting tuberculosis, whether or not they are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Studies conducted before and after the emergence of HIV infection show that, when compared with the general population, people who use illicit drugs have a higher risk not just of getting tuberculosis infection, but also of developing active disease.

The Stop TB Partnership is undertaking an exercise that will enable building a network of TB advocates from civil society and affected communities in six regions (Africa, Middle East, Europe and Central Asia, South of Asia, Americas and the Pacific Region). The result will be the creation of an inventory of civil society organisations – CBO, FBO, NGO etc.

31 January 2013 - Geneva - The United Nations has launched My World, a global survey that asks for people's opinion on the issues that should be prioritized in the post-2015 development agenda.

The Cochrane analysis represents the most comprehensive review on the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert and provides evidence that may help countries make decisions about scaling up Xpert for programmatic management of TB and drug-resistant TB.

With shortages of isoniazid, a major treatment for tuberculosis, expected to continue, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its general guidance to clinicians on how to adjust to a lack of the drug.

By doing so, the bacteria take advantage of the body's own mechanisms of self-renewal.

In 2010, a survey conducted in Minsk, Belarus found that nearly one out of every two (47.8 percent) TB patients had multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). These were the highest MDR-TB levels ever recorded. In response, the Belarusian Ministry of Health conducted a nationwide survey to better understand drug resistance across the country, as well as the risk factors that lead to MDR-TB.

The Health Ministry held meetings with leading pharma companies to explore the possibility of them manufacturing and supplying certain drugs for the scheme

Summary: Last week, the WHO Executive Board held the latest in a series of meetings to discuss the report for negotiation on a global treaty for funding and coordination of medical research and development. As proposed, the treaty would commit Member States to spend at least 0.01% of their gross domestic product on R&D that addresses the special health needs of developing countries, and it would require at least 20% of this funding to be spent through a single pooled financing mechanism. However, the treaty proposal had encountered substantial opposition from developed countries at an open-ended meeting of WHO Member States last November.