TB epidemiology course in India – a knowledge exchange

For more than 25 years, The Union has held its international tuberculosis courses in various countries. This April marked the first time the TB epidemiology course was held in India. Dr Hans Rieder, a principal faculty member with The Union, facilitated the inaugural course along with experts from LRS Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Allied Diseases, New Delhi and the Central TB Division.

Project Axysha provided the springboard to bring the course to India. Under this project, The Union is providing technical support for capacity building of the healthcare professionals working closely with the programme. The public health professionals who were selected to attend the course had prior TB control experience and came from across India. They represented a variety of disciplines within the field such as consultants from World Health Organization (WHO), district TB offices, government agencies and medical graduates.

The advanced three-week course on TB epidemiology is one channel to help increase the resource pool of technical experts on TB in the country. Participants engaged in an exchange of ideas, experiences, theories and solutions. The course was proscriptive rather than prescriptive, with theory and concepts transferred into practical strategies. Participants were encouraged to use basic but scientifically sound concepts tailored to their specific needs in the field.

Course structure supported this aim through laboratory work on bacteriology, clinical presentations, epidemiology, interventions and TB control measures. Participants also did field studies and held discussions focused on problem-solving.

India has long experience with TB, contributing much research to the field. This was therefore an excellent forum for participants and those leading the course to engage in an exchange of knowledge, to share experiences and solutions and open minds to new ideas. Participants in the course will take their knowledge back to the field to train their colleagues. The Union will use the momentum from the course to enlarge its network of TB control experts and aims to interact with the group on a regular basis.