HIV ATLAS

Comment: Up to 1-in-5 TB deaths attributed to tobacco use (1) Dr Jagdish Kaur, India * [Mods note: Below is a comment to a Key Correspondent (KC) article from the recently concluded 39th World Conference on Lung Health. 50% of all deaths from lung disease are linked to tobacco use, with up to one-in-five TB deaths attributed to tobacco use. To read the article, go to: http://www.healthdev.org/viewmsg.aspx?msgid=1b9e7e88-8c92-45cc-915a-d287576e118e More comments are

Comment: Barriers to participation of patient representatives in conferences Rita Smith, Brazil * [Mods note: Please note that this comment has been abridged and tranlsated from Portugese using net resources, by a non-speaker of Portugese. The original text is below, if anyone wishes to provide a more accurate translation please do reply. How can we widen participation of communitites in international and intranational di

Stop-TB eCorrespondent: 14-21 October 2008 Stop-TB eForum Resource Team Dear Stop-TB members, The Issue 25 of the Stop-TB eCorrespondent (14-21 October 2008) is now online. To read, go to: http://www.healthdev.net/site/post.php?s=3886 Stop-TB eCorrespondent, provides a weekly snapshot of five major news on TB control from around the world, TB/HIV news highlights from TB high-burden countries in the past week and links to major happenings on TB/HIV in th

PARIS 2008: Successful trial of TB vaccine to prevent TB among PLHIV International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD, The Union) The Union announced the successful results of a TB candidate-vaccine trial for people living with HIV (PLHIV). As a fact, TB and HIV are inextricably intertwined since the risk of developing TB in people living with HIV is a life-time risk. HIV infection greatly increases the risk of active TB in persons who carry the myc

PARIS 2008: Afghanistan upped DOTS coverage from 38% to 97% in 5 years HDN Key Correspondent team It is indeed impressive to hear at the 3rd Afghanistan Partners Forum 2008 (held at the 39th World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France), that after the 2002 unilateral military attack by USA in Afghanistan, the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) coverage has expanded from 38% (2002) to 97% (2007). Indeed impressive. The significant incre

PARIS 2008: Mixing clinical and home-based care approaches in Cambodian TB response HDN Key Correspondent team In Cambodia, mixing of the clinical and home-based care approaches have improved TB responses, said Dr Sok Thim at the 39th World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France. Dr Thim represents Cambodian Health Committee (CHC) which partners with National tuberculosis programme (NTP) of Cambodian government. The patients who were treated at home

Comment: DR TB and the Partnership (3) [Anonymous] * "MUCH GREATER PROMINENCE IS NEEDED FOR THE PLAYERS AT THE COUNTRY LEVEL PARTNERSHIPS, THE NGOS THAT IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY" Call for clarity in the role of the Stop-TB partnership is in some ways timely, though it is unfortunate that it is the result from disruption of a Working Group. In my view, which please be challenged, the Partnership is become over-identified with its secretariat, and also perhaps the working group

PARIS 2008: Vietnam gearing up to respond to MDR-TB HDN Key Correspondent team * There is an emerging consensus, thankfully, after years of neglect, that effective broad-based partnerships are indeed instrumental to strengthen health systems and improve disease-specific responses. Community involvement has been at the centre-stage of the 39th World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France. In Vietnam, Professor Dinh Ngoc Sy said that "building partnerships has

PARIS 2008: Up to 1-in-5 TB deaths attributed to tobacco use HDN Key Correspondent team * With 50% of all deaths from lung disease linked to tobacco use, the 39th World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France, has tobacco control high up on the agenda. “Up to one in five TB deaths could be avoided if TB patients were not smokers” said Dr Nils Billo, Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD, The Union). Smoking i

Spotlight: Imprisoned, deported and neglected: An MDR TB patients story BONELA and HDN KC Team Zimbabwean worker Mr Sibanda's only "crime" was to breathe, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and become infected with MDR-TB. But for this he was imprisoned and deported from Botswana by the authorities. This is his story. It's not clear exacly when Mr Sibanda became infected with MDR-TB. Living in Botswana, with his

Paris2008: Civil society mobilisation is an essential component of health systems strengthening HDN Key Correspondent Team * The 39th Union World Conference takes the importance of health systems' responses as a theme. Health systems strengthening (HSS hereafter) is a pervasive and attractive 'horizontal' model where TB, HIV and all other health issues are addressed through improving public health capacity in countries wh

PARIS 2008: TB vaccine trials announced in Kenya Crucell and Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation * Aeras and Crucell Announce TB Vaccine Clinical Trial in Kenya PROMISING VACCINE CANDIDATE ADVANCES TO PHASE II SAFETY STUDY Dutch biopharma company Crucell NV and the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation announced the start of a Phase I clinical trial in Kenya of the jointly developed tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate, AERAS-402/Crucell Ad35.

PARIS 2008: Medical professionals outside NTP are asset, not liability HDN Key Correspondent team * Medical professionals outside national TB control programmes (NTP) are an asset, and not a liability, said Dr RV Asokan, National Coordinator for TB at Indian Medical Association. He was one of the speakers at the special pre-conference meeting of 39th World Conference on Lung Health (Paris, France), on engaging professional associations in TB control, organized by t

PARIS 2008: 39th World Conference on Lung Health opens in Paris HDN Key Correspondent team New President of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD, The Union) Dr S Bertel Squire opened the 39th World Conference on Lung Health, in Paris, France on 17 October 2008. The theme of the Conference is "Global threats to lung health: the importance of health system responses". 17 October also marks the United Nation's International Day

Action: Equal Treatment issue on TB and HIV Lesley Odendal Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) [Mods note: To download the latest issue of Equal Treatment on TB and HIV, go to: http://www.tac.org.za/community/files/file/et26.pdf . Thanks] Dear Stop-TB members, Please follow this link to access the next issue of Equal Treatment, TAC's high quality magazine. http://www.tac.org.za/community/files/file/et26.pdf The foc

PARIS 2008: Jamie Bayona and Denis Mitchison share Kochon Prize 2008 Stop TB Partnership Dr Jaime Bayona of Socios En Salud Sucursal Peru (SES) and Prof Denis Mitchison will share this year's Kochon prize, which is awarded annually to persons, institutions or organizations that have made a highly significant contribution to combating tuberculosis (TB). The selections were announced at the opening ceremony of the World Conference of the International Union Against Tuber

Comment: DR TB and the Partnership (2) Dr Abdul Ghafoor, Pakistan * [Mods note: response to news of activist dissatisfaction form Paris 2008, online at http://eforums.healthdev.org/read/messages?id=23014 This discussion is also online at http://healthdev.net. Please register and go to posts here http://healthdev.net/site/post.php?s=3845 or http://healthdev.net/site/post.php?s=3860 to add your views. Thanks.] It is certainly shocking

PARIS 2008: Winners of the Stop TB Award for Excellence in TB Reporting announced Stop TB Partnership and Lilly MDR-TB Partnership * [Mods note: Last year at the 38th World Conference on Lung Health 2007, the Stop TB Awards for Excellence in TB reporting were announced. This year at the 39th World Conference on Lung Health, the winners were declared. Read the 2007 posting online at: http://www.healthdev.org/viewmsg.aspx?msgid=fc64a666-adef-428

Comment: DR TB and the Partnership by Marcos Espinal [Mods note: response from Dr Marcos Espinal to news of activist dissatisfaction form Paris 2008, online at http://eforums.healthdev.org/read/messages?id=23014 This discussion is also online at http://healthdev.net. Please register and go to posts here http://healthdev.net/site/post.php?s=3845 or http://healthdev.net/site/post.php?s=3860 to add your views. Thanks.] D

PARIS 2008: Ministerial meeting on MDR-TB & XDR-TB response HDN Key Correspondent team A high-level ministerial meeting on multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) response was announced in a pre-conference meeting of the 39th World Conference on Lung Health. This meeting will be held in Beijing, China, from 1-3 April 2009. It is being organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the Ministry of Health of the People's