Tb
Undernutrition before TB, after treatment initiation associated with adverse outcomes
Undernutrition, both before tuberculosis onset and at treatment initiation, as well as a lack of body mass index increase after intensive therapy, are associated with unfavorable TB outcomes, according to a recent study.
WHO: TB deaths, disease, treatment resistance continued to increase in 2021
Disruptions to care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continued to negatively impact the fight against tuberculosis as cases and deaths have increased for the second year in a row after decades of declines, according to WHO’s 2022 Global TB Report.
Less than half of people with latent TB in the US initiate therapy
Researchers uncovered gaps in the care cascade for latent tuberculosis in the United States, including that less than half of people diagnosed with latent TB in 2016 and 2017 initiated treatment.
Providers should ‘think TB’ as data show possibility of underdiagnosis
There was a 20% decline in reported cases of tuberculosis in the United States in 2020 compared with previous years, which was not a result of underreporting but did raise concerns that TB was underdiagnosed, researchers said.
Study uncovers high rate of subclinical TB among people with HIV
The incidence of subclinical tuberculosis among people with HIV in a South African study was similar to the incidence of clinical TB, suggesting that guidelines recommending symptom-based screening may need to be updated, researchers said.
Treatment for children with nonsevere TB can be shortened to 4 months
Treatment for children with nonsevere tuberculosis can be safely shortened from 6 to 4 months, according to the results of a study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine.
CDC recommends 4-month regimen for drug-susceptible TB
The CDC published a recommendation and interim guidance in MMWR for a 4-month regimen to treat patients aged 12 years or older with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis.
Funding for TB research falls well short of UN target
According to a new report, global funding for tuberculosis research totaled $915 million in 2020 — less than half of the $2 billion goal set at the 2018 United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB.
Nucleic acid amplification testing not performed in nearly half of confirmed US TB cases
The use of nucleic acid amplification testing for tuberculosis increased in the United States between 2011 and 2017, although nearly half of U.S. TB cases did not include one of the tests, according to a study.
Rapid assay accurately detects drug-resistant TB
A rapid sputum-based assay accurately detected resistance to isoniazid, fluoroquinolones, ethionamide, amikacin, kanamycin and capreomycin in people with tuberculosis symptoms, showing its potential to diagnose drug-resistant TB.