Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

Lancet series examines tuberculosis

"To commemorate World TB Day 2013, the Lancet Infectious Diseases publishes a series of papers on tuberculosis, a disease that has long plagued human beings and was declared a global emergency in 1993 by WHO," the series homepage states.

27 Mar 2013

South Africa to expand rollout of new TB testing machine, but concerns remain about capacity issues

"South Africa will expand its rollout of GeneXpert tuberculosis testing machines, which can diagnose TB and drug-resistant TB within 90 minutes, but concerns remain about the capacity to back up this commitment with supplies and treatment," IRIN reports.

27 Mar 2013

New York Times examines emergence of XDR-TB in Australia, PNG

"Australia's first death from XDR-TB -- extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is nearly incurable -- has alarmed health officials and added new heat to a debate over how to treat immigrants with dangerous diseases," the New York Times reports.

27 Mar 2013

Integration of TB/HIV services necessary to beat 'twin epidemics'

Swaziland "is struggling to overcome twin epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé writes in the Huffington Post "Healthy Living" blog.

27 Mar 2013

Lundbeck, Otsuka reach agreement to develop and commercialize Lu AE58054

H. Lundbeck A/S and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. today announced a license and development agreement for Lu AE58054, a selective 5HT6 receptor antagonist currently in development for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

26 Mar 2013

IRIN examines TB in southern African mines

Noting "South Africa's gold mines are estimated to have the highest number of new tuberculosis cases in the world, making the disease a leading export to neighboring countries," IRIN examines "the declaration meant to change this situation."

26 Mar 2013

Focused approach needed to end TB

Addressing the question of whether the international community can eliminate tuberculosis, Arundhati Maitra and Sanjib Bhakta of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of London write in an opinion piece in the AlertNet News Blog, "With an estimated 8.7 million reported cases and 1.4 million deaths due to TB in 2011, the question above poses one of the most serious challenges faced by the scientific community, health care industry, government and public organizations worldwide."

26 Mar 2013

Challenges remain in fight against TB, U.N. Secretary-General says

On World Tuberculosis Day, recognized on March 24, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "said that while there has been much progress since the World Health Organization declared TB a global health emergency two decades ago, there are still challenges to be met, mainly stopping the spread of multidrug-resistant TB, also known as MDR-TB, which threatens to reverse the gains achieved in past years," the U.N. News Centre reports.

26 Mar 2013

Blogs address issues surrounding TB, World TB Day

On Sunday, March 24, the international community observed World TB Day. The following is a summary of blog posts published in recognition of the day.

26 Mar 2013

Study shows vitamin D can help people breathe better and protect against TB

Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D can help people breathe better and may even protect against tuberculosis (TB), according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

26 Mar 2013

Additional resources needed to stave off TB resurgence

The release of new data by the CDC "showing that the number of people contracting tuberculosis in the U.S. has been declining for 20 years ... should be good news," but "as a physician and adviser working to control TB for more than 40 years, I'm more concerned than ever before about our ability to protect the public from this deadly airborne disease," Lee Reichman of the New Jersey Medical School Global Tuberculosis Institute writes in The Hill's "Congress Blog."

26 Mar 2013

Experts to meet in Cape Town to discuss development of vaccines for deadly airborne disease

At a time of growing global concern about the rising level of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis in South Africa and worldwide, the world's top TB vaccine experts are meeting this week, the first time this scientific forum has been held in Africa, where they will present new research aimed at advancing development of vaccines against the deadly airborne disease.

26 Mar 2013

Japan's MHLW approves XELJANZ for treatment of adults with rheumatoid arthritis

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has approved XELJANZ (tofacitinib citrate) for the treatment of adults with rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to existing therapies.

25 Mar 2013

Financial Times special report focuses on tuberculosis

The Financial Times has published a special report, titled "Combating Tuberculosis 2013," as World TB Day on March 24 approaches.

25 Mar 2013

Scientists identify a new way to develop potential drugs for TB

Scientists have developed a way to pinpoint promising drugs to fight tuberculosis (TB) and other diseases without setting foot in the laboratory.

24 Mar 2013

Blog examines TB control efforts in India

In a guest post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog, part of the blog's coverage leading up to World Tuberculosis Day, Madhukar Pai, an associate professor of epidemiology at McGill University, Montreal, and an associate director of the McGill International TB Centre, "looks at the need for an evolving approach to tuberculosis."

24 Mar 2013

Organizations highlight World TB Day

World TB Day is commemorated each year on March 24, recognizing the discovery of the tuberculosis bacilli by Robert Koch in 1882.

22 Mar 2013

Swaziland, South Africa announce initiative to improve diagnosis, treatment of TB/HIV co-infection

"Health ministers from Swaziland and South Africa have agreed to radically change the diagnosis and treatment of the co-epidemic of [tuberculosis (TB)]/HIV in their countries," VOA News reports.

22 Mar 2013

New testing technologies can help fight TB, but new treatments needed

"[F]or many low-income populations, [tuberculosis (TB)] is nothing less than a modern-day public health emergency," and "[t]o make things worse, many of these patients [a]re living with HIV," U.N. Under-Secretary General and UNITAID Chair Philippe Douste-Blazy writes in a Huffington Post "Impact" blog opinion piece.

22 Mar 2013

Global health community calls for more effective, accessible TB treatment in MSF statement

"Patients, doctors and international aid groups are calling on donors and governments to support measures that would make treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis more effective and accessible," Inter Press Service reports, noting, "The demands are being made amidst the recent or imminent approval of two new drugs" that some advocates say "present an historic opportunity to tackle the notoriously difficult-to-treat disease."

22 Mar 2013