Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

The tuberculosis rate among U.S. patients with kidney failure from 2010 to 2021was 10-fold higher than that of the general population, researchers found.

It is estimated that approximately one-quarter of the world’s population has latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Although effective therapies are available, these agents can have significant adverse effects that can complicate treatment.

Adaora Adimora, MD, MPH, FIDSA, an infectious disease physician, researcher and mentor, has died at the age of 67 years following a long illness.

Drugs designed to treat heartburn may also help with tuberculosis by accelerating the treatment process, according to study results published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Failure to respond to antibiotics may serve as a strong indicator of tuberculosis among people living with HIV who have symptoms of the disease, according to findings published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Data from a 4-year study conducted in one French facility suggest that PCR is a beneficial “add-on” to routine culture to diagnose patients with a suspected bone and joint infection.

An updated version of the Xpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampin assay, known as Ultra, demonstrated high sensitivity in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis in children compared with traditional bacteriologic testing, according to research published in Pediatrics.

An experimental vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis was nearly 50% effective in protecting infected adults from progression to pulmonary tuberculosis disease for at least 3 years, according to study findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

A tuberculosis prediction score based on diagnostic models may enable prompt treatment decisions in HIV-infected children with suspected TB and a high risk for mortality, according to research published in Pediatrics. Implementing the score would likely have significant public health benefits, the researchers noted.

An estimated 25% of household tuberculosis case contacts in the Innate Factors and Early Clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or INFECT, study in Indonesia were considered early clearers, and researchers found that protection against M. tuberculosis was strongly associated with bacille Calmette-Guérin, or BCG, vaccination.