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Top 10 stories for World TB Day 2015
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CDC data from 2014 suggest that new tuberculosis cases within the United States have reached an all-time low, with an estimated 200,000 cases prevented by national control efforts since 1993.
Despite this, there is area for improvement. Asian-Americans, foreign-born residents, people with HIV and the homeless continue to acquire the infection at greater rates, while multidrug-resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB threaten patients and the efficacy of antibiotic treatments.
Anthony S. Fauci
“Last year, WHO announced the goal of completely eliminating TB by 2050. NIAID remains committed to supporting and conducting the necessary research and leveraging resources with other funding agencies and organizations to reach that target,” Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wrote in a statement. “Although the challenges ahead are daunting, our resolve to end the plague of this ancient disease is steady. With continued scientific progress, we look forward to the day when World TB Day becomes a thing of the past.”
In recognition of World TB Day 2015, Infectious Disease News has compiled a list of the top TB stories from the past year.
TB incidence in US declines 2.2%
The incidence of new tuberculosis cases in the United States in 2014 decreased 2.2% from 2013, but is the smallest decline in more than a decade, according to new data. Read more
Drug-susceptibility testing useful in guiding treatment for MDR, XDR TB
The use of drug susceptibility testing for ethambutol, pyrazinamide and second-line TB drugs appears to yield valuable information in directing treatment selection for multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, according to recent findings. Read more
Shorter TB therapy soon may be within reach
WASHINGTON, D.C. — ICAAC 2014 presenter Stephen H. Gillespie MD, DSc, discusses the results of the REMoxTB trial, which evaluated the noninferiority of experimental moxifloxacin-containing TB regimens compared with standard therapy. Watch video
Gerard A. Cangelosi
Oral swabs show potential in TB detection
Use of oral swab specimens successfully identified up to 90% of confirmed tuberculosis cases, offering a viable alternative to sputum samples, according to the results of a small, proof-of-concept study. Read more
Clustered transmission responsible for majority of XDR-TB cases
SEATTLE — The majority of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis cases in South Africa appear to result from transmission of clustered drug-resistant strains, according to data presented at CROI 2015. Read more
N. Sharita Shah
TB drug candidate advances to phase 1 trial; first since 2009
Enrollment has begun for the first phase 1 clinical trial of a tuberculosis drug candidate since 2009, according to a press release. Read more
Diagnostic TB tests performed accurately among adults, poorly in children
Despite accuracy among adults, two diagnostic tests performed poorly when diagnosing tuberculosis in Tanzanian children, according to data published in Pediatrics. Read more
High-dose rifampin reduced time to TB culture conversion
SEATTLE — A treatment regimen including a high dose of rifampin could reduce treatment duration for patients with tuberculosis, according to data presented at CROI 2015. Read more
Martin J. Boeree
Viability microscopy predicted concentration of M. tuberculosis in sputum culture
Quantitative viability microscopy was accurate in predicting the concentration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum culture, according to new data published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Read more
Patients with HIV play key role in TB transmission
SEATTLE — In contrast to previous hypotheses, HIV-positive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis appear to have an important function in the onward transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, according to findings presented at CROI 2015. Read more