Tuberculosis

There has been a rebound in cases of tuberculosis in the United States, according to the CDC, with the largest increase occurring among children aged 4 years or younger.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, World TB Day, which is observed each year on March 23, has marked the need for more — more research, more testing, more treatment options, and more access for patients globally.

Cases of tuberculosis increased in the U.S. in 2022 but did not return to pre-pandemic levels, according to data published in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ahead of World TB Day.

Most patients with latent tuberculosis receiving a once-weekly combination of rifapentine and isoniazid reported symptoms that resolved without stopping treatment, researchers found, suggesting the treatment is convenient and effective.

Currently, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine from 1921 is the only available vaccine for tuberculosis, according to a press release from the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

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.

SEATTLE — An 8-week boosted regimen of bedaquiline and linezolid was noninferior to standard 24-week treatment for tuberculosis in terms of clinical outcomes, according to the results of a phase 2-3 trial.

A tuberculosis outbreak, which was linked to a viable bone allograft product contaminated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, resulted in ”unusual” exposures for health care personnel, according to the outbreak investigation.

Last week, WHO announced that it will begin using the term “mpox” for monkeypox disease to avoid stigmatizing language.

An early spike in influenza cases in Chile and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere could serve as a warning for the rest of the world, according to experts.