Highlights from the 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health: Official press statements

For the second year in a row, the 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic on 19-22 October 2021 under the theme Lung Health for All: Solutions for a New Era. The Union World Conference is world’s largest gathering of clinicians and public health workers, health program managers, policymakers, researchers and advocates working to end the suffering caused by lung disease, with a focus specifically on the challenges faced by low- and lower-middle income populations.

The official press statements can be accessed here and here, giving an overview of a number of important scientific studies presented at the Conference:

• Cough-independent aerosolization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis suggests a significant role for tidal breathing in tuberculosis transmission
  
• Diagnostic accuracy of the Cepheid 3 gene host-response fingerstick blood test in a prospective, multi-site study
• Face mask sampling of pulmonary tuberculosis patients predicts acquired Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in household contacts
• Development of artificial intelligence for screening active tuberculosis on CT images
• Feasibility and yield of systematic tuberculosis molecular testing in children with severe pneumonia in countries with high tuberculosis incidence
• Genomic signatures of pre-resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Efficacy and safety of 4-month rifapentine-moxifloxacin regimen for tuberculosis in adolescent participants
• Short all-oral treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis. Results from TB-PRACTECAL, a Phase II-III multicenter randomized controlled trial of a 24-week BPaLM regimen