Today sees the launch of a new new research unit that will work to prevent and pre-empt future disease pandemics and tackle dangerous respiratory infections such as TB. The NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Respiratory Infection is a partnership between Imperial College London and Public Health England (PHE), with TB Alert as the lead third sector […]
TB management course October dates
A two and a half day advanced course in tuberculosis management and control in the UK is being held from 20 to 22 October 2014. The course being held at the Birmingham & Midland Institute in central Birmingham is for doctors, TB nurses and related non-medical scientists. A wide range of topics will be covered, from microbiology and epidemiology, […]
Ambitious new TB strategy post 2015
At the World Health Assembly last month, world leaders approved the new post-2015 Global TB Strategy. The strategy has a number of ambitious targets, including reducing TB deaths by 95% and cutting new cases by 90% between 2015 and 2035. Although the world is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal to reverse the spread […]
Supporter chronicles sanitorium experience in biography
TB Alert supporter and TB survivor Chris Dell shares his experience of life in a sanitorium during the 1950s in his biography Black Notley Blues. The book is available on Amazon
Genes may offer new clue in diagnosis among children
A new test involving genes may improve TB diagnosis rates among children, according to a study in southern Africa funded by the European Union and the Wellcome Trust. In the past, diagnosis of TB among children has proved challenging, especially among those who are malnourished and those with human immunodeficiency syndrome. As a result, many children go undiagnosed much longer than they […]
New research could improve TB diagnosis
A study has found that a tuberculosis infection immediately alters the diversity of bacteria in the gut, which means that a stool test could be used to diagnose TB, making the process much simpler and quicker. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for Tuberculosis Research in the United States have found there was a decrease […]
Study seeks improved TB treatment for babies
Researchers in South Africa have begun searching for better, child-friendly tuberculosis treatments for babies in a bid to reduce the number of child deaths from the disease. TB is among the leading causes of death among children in South Africa, but existing treatments for very young children, especially newborn babies, are not effective enough, according […]
First year of TB Reach sees an increase in cases detected
There has been an increase in the number of TB cases detected in the first year of a comprehensive health scheme that seeks to reach the three million people all over the world who develop tuberculosis but remain untreated. The TB Reach initiative was implemented last year by the STOP TB Partnership, a global grouping […]
UN knowledge-sharing scheme to combat neglected tropical diseases
More than 50 global companies have linked up with scientists all over the world to boost research on neglected tropical diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and river blindness under a UN-sponsored scheme. The WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Re:Search is an initiative that matches up holders of intellectual property resources such as pharmaceutical data, with […]
TB session at PHE conference
TB Alert is co-organising a session at Public Health England’s (PHE’s) second annual conference, which is being held on 16-17 October in Coventry. We are working with the British Thoracic Society to develop the session, which will outline the role of public health and technological advances in tuberculosis control. PHE has made the control of tuberculosis […]