Two innovations, described as ‘awesome’ by the Stop TB Partnership, promise to speed up diagnosis and shorten treatment for multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). Current treatment regimes for MDR-TB are longer and come with a greater risk of side effects than treatment for drug-sensitive TB. This makes it more difficult for people to stick with treatment, […]
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Emma Thompson speaks about TB in her family
When Emma Thompson’s son Tindy was diagnosed with TB, they were inspired to find out more about the illness. After learning that London has one of the highest rates of TB in the Western world, Ms Thompson took on the role of the Mayor of London’s TB Ambassador. Hear their story, and the facts about […]
Young professionals key to TB fight in India
Blessina Kumar, Chair of the Global Coalition of TB Activists (GCTA) in India and Trustee of TB Alert India, has called for a paradigm shift on TB in India; to include the voices of young, development professionals rather than the purely medical model of the past. At a recent roundtable, young professionals working in urban planning, […]
New NICE TB guidance combines social and clinical aspects
NICE – the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – has published updated guidance to better treat and prevent tuberculosis. For the first time, the guidance combines clinical advice and public health guidance in recognition of the importance of tackling the social aspects of TB alongside the clinical aspects of the illness. The guidance includes […]
Quest for vaccine to beat TB by 2035
From a TB clinic in Cape Town, the Guardian reports on the quest for a new TB vaccine that lays at the heart of the Stop TB Partnership’s new Global Plan to Stop TB ambition to end tuberculosis as a public health threat by 2035. Yoliswa Qaku, a mother from Cape Town, had her son […]
World’s first child-friendly TB medication launched
TB Alliance and its partners have launched the World’s first child-friendly tuberculosis (TB) medications. The improved treatments are the first to meet child dosage guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2010. They are dispersible and palatable, simple to administer and affordable. At least 1 million children become ill with TB each year and […]
Petition world leaders to end childhood TB
There’s a global health crisis: Tuberculosis (TB) kills nearly 400 children each day. It is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide – ahead of HIV. But kids with TB have remained neglected, uncounted, and untreated. But there’s new hope: More can be done. New and improved TB cures for children are on the way, and with a […]
Fear factor – do we need to fear a disease to eliminate it?
A new Stop TB Partnership video highlights the limited knowledge people have about TB, especially in developed countries. The video takes a novel approach. Although TB is one of the deadliest diseases, people have forgotten about it, quite possibly because it’s been around for so long. So what if it was given a new name, like ILD […]
Smoking shown to limit TB treatment success
Current smokers with pulmonary TB experience significantly worse treatment outcomes than smear positive non-smokers, researchers at the Taipei Medical University and Hospital have found. The study included 245 cases with cultures positive for TB and 114 controls with non-TB-related pulmonary diseases and negative sputum cultures. Current smokers had the highest failure rate (33%) for TB treatment, took longer […]
Increased TB awareness needed to sustain fall in England’s TB cases
Rates of tuberculosis (TB) in England are falling, according to new Public Health England (PHE) figures. England’s annual TB cases have dropped from 7,257 cases in 2013 to 6,520 cases in 2014. Yet rates among vulnerable UK-born populations buck this trend, and increasing numbers are waiting months to start treatment. The incidence of TB in UK […]