Tuberculosis

BOSTON — Sub-Saharan African countries supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, tested for COVID-19 at three times the rate of non-PEPFAR nations, according to data presented at IDWeek.

As experts raise awareness of the evidence supporting shorter antibiotic therapy for some conditions and the benefits of oral vs. IV-only therapy for others, we wanted to know: What is another ID dogma that should be reevaluated?

Patients with asthma or allergic rhinitis had greater risk for mycobacterial disease than patients who did not have these allergic diseases, according to a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

Early-life TB was related to future wheezing, weak lung function and low measures of weight and height at 5 years old, according to study results published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Wellcome and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Wednesday that they will provide up to $550 million in funding for a phase 3 trial of a tuberculosis vaccine candidate.

BPaL shortens treatment times significantly and shows few adverse effects in patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis , according to data published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Jeffrey R. Starke, MD, is a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

A 79-year-old woman presented for a routine follow-up appointment as a glaucoma suspect in February 2022 at Lahey Medical Center. She reported long-standing difficulty with distance vision in both eyes but had no acute visual complaints.

Adults who have an increased risk for tuberculosis should be screened for latent TB infection, according to a final recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Heightened odds for a tuberculosis diagnosis were related to exposure to ambient air pollution that contained wildfire smoke, according to results published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.