The words 'defaulter', 'suspect' and 'control' have been part of the language of tuberculosis (TB) services for many decades. The detrimental effect of such negative language is detailed by TB experts from around the world in the June International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD).
At the World Health Assembly on 21–26 May, there is a strong likelihood that no progress will be made on agreeing global targets to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The NCD Alliance, including The Union, says this will risk a crippling loss of the momentum created by last year's historic UN Summit on NCDs.
A new clinical TB-HIV course, offered by The Union for the first time in Colombia last month, led participants to the conclusion that the roles and duties of physicians working in each specialty need to be revised to strengthen their collaborative and comprehensive management of patients with these two conditions.
The Union and Médecins Sans Frontières have modified their successful operational research course, combining its three modules into two, and have launched a plan to offer it regionally. The new version was held for the first time in Kathmandu in February.
A US National Institutes of Health workshop on pediatric TB diagnostics research in 2011 led to recent consensus papers in the Journal of Infectious Diseases suggesting clinical case definitions for intrathoracic TB in children and addressing methodological issues when including children in diagnostics research. Dr Steve Graham, consultant for The Union, was lead author of the first paper.
