RESEARCH

The Union has been a leader in TB research for many decades. Field research conducted by The Union in the 1980s formed the basis for the TB control strategy adopted by WHO as DOTS in 1995 and used to treat more than 37 million TB patients worldwide. DOTS continues to be central to today's Stop TB Strategy.

Both clinical trials and operational research are conducted by The Union. In 2010, the Ethics Advisory Group approved 64 protocols for research in 11 countries, including the following:

• Evaluation of LED microscopes and staining techniques for acid-fast smear fluorescence microscopy (Bangladesh)
• Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in children at Tygerberg Hospital and in the townships surrounding Cape Town (South Africa)
• The challenge of co-treating HIV-TB infected patients in Kibera, Kenya: ART uptake and attrition (Kenya)
• Tuberculosis management practices by private practitioners in the coastal district of Andhra Pradesh (India)
• Is there an association between HIV testing status and TB treatment outcomes among new TB patients in selected States in Brazil between 2001 and 2008 as recorded in the national TB reporting system? (Brazil)

To see recent published research from The Union, please [click here] (PDF 118KO)

PUBLICATIONS

The Union has published 15 technical guides and books on the management of tuberculosis and related topics. Many are available in English, Spanish and French, as well as other languages. They are all available at no charge from The Union website to facilitate the widest possible distribution of these resources. [click here]