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| (13/12/07) Congratulations to Prof Ormerod for making it into Who's Who |
A DOCTOR who became an expert in treating tuberculosis after contracting the disease as a child has been given one of high society's top accolades - an entry in Who's Who.
Professor Lawrence Ormerod - known by his middle name Peter - is one of the UK's most respected experts in prevention and treatment of TB and the Royal Blackburn Hospital's consultant in respiratory medicine.
He joins supermodel Kate Moss and acclaimed comedy director Armando Iannucci among the new entries for 2008 in the book, which lists mini-biographies of aristocrats, along with those who have reached the top of their profession.
Read more from Camilla Sutcliffe in This is Lancashire
Professor Ormerod has been a great supporter of TB Alert over the years and we are delighted that his work has been recognised by this prestigious directory. Professor Ormerod is shown above right pushing his grandson (who, Peter tells us, had the good sense to be born on World TB Day!) in a fancy dress sponsored walk organised by the boys of Bolton Boys Junior. Our thanks to the Bolton Boys who raised over £5,000 for TB Alert, and to Peter for motivating the boys to support us.
id: ormerod |
| (12/12/07) World Bank Research Report |
A new World Bank research report finds that 22 countries with the world’s highest numbers of TB cases could earn significantly more than they spend on TB diagnosis and treatment if they signed onto the Stop TB Partnership's Global Plan to Stop TB. Highly affected African countries could gain up to 9 times their investments in TB control; and those outside Africa a 15-fold return. The study also warns about the need to step-up TB control worldwide with the growing emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) in Southern Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
"We already had sufficient reasons to step up the fight against TB. But this study provides a new incentive. It demonstrates that fighting TB is not only about preventing illness and death --it is also a smart investment. We urge our partners and all countries affected by TB to take notice and accelerate their efforts to accelerate TB diagnosis and treatment in line with the Global Plan," said Dr Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership.
Press release
Economic Benefit of Tuberculosis Control
id: wbreport |
| (12/12/07) TB Alert Programme Officer - job advertisement and details |
3 days a week for £17 000 p.a. plus pension (Based on £28 000 full-time equivalent). Brighton Based.
Tuberculosis, with HIV and malaria, is one of the three greatest killer diseases in the world today. TB Alert, Britain’s national tuberculosis charity, already has a cohort of projects in Central Africa and India with a focus on community outreach to increase detection and to support patients through diagnosis and the long months of treatment.
We need someone to administer our links with existing projects; ensure proper monitoring; develop new project proposals to statutory and other funders; ensure dissemination of lessons learnt from our projects; and, given bids in the pipeline, manage a major increase in programme responsibilities.
Our UK office is in Brighton, Some degree of home-working could be agreed if you have appropriate IT resources. While the post is offered as three days a week, we expect to pay for extra days when developing proposals and visiting projects.
You will have several years’ experience of programme development with resource-poor countries. A background in health is desirable but not essential.
For job description, person specification and application details click here.
Deadline for applications (to be sent by email): 9.30 am on Wednesday, 9th January 2008
If you have any problems downloading the pdf file, please call:
Melanie Matthews on 0845 223 5293 during office hours (our office is closed from end 21st December and re-opens 2nd January); or
Paul Sommerfeld on 0845 223 5294 or 07976 860266 evenings and weekends (not Christmas day please!)
id: progoff |
| (11/12/07) TB Found in 500,000-Year-Old Fossil in Turkey |
Evidence of tuberculosis has been found in a 500,000-year-old hominid fossil in Turkey, according to a study published in the Dec. 7 issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, United Press International reports (United Press International, 12/7). John Kappelman, professor of anthropology at the University of Texas-Austin, and colleagues from Germany, Turkey and the U.S. found characteristic signs of the disease on the skull of a male Homo erectus, the first hominid species believed to have migrated out of Africa, BBC News reports.
The researchers examined a series of small lesions on the bone of the cranium. The shape and location of the lesions are characteristic of Leptomeningitis tuberculosa, a form of TB that affects the meninges lining of the brain, according to the scientists (BBC News, 12/7). It is likely that Homo erectus had dark skin because the species evolved in the tropics, but after it moved north, it had to adapt to more seasonal climates, Kappelman said. According to researchers, the young man's body produced less vitamin D, which weakened his immune system and made him more vulnerable to TB (University of Texas release, 12/7).
Until this finding, the most ancient case of TB was documented in remains found in Italy that date back 5,000 years, Simon Mays of the historic environmental organization English Heritage said. He added that it would be necessary to have "very firm proof that the skull lesions described are indeed from TB and not something else" (BBC News, 12/7). The research was funded by the Leakey Foundation and the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (University of Texas release, 12/7).
The study is available online
id: tbfossil |
| (11/12/07) DOTS Best Method To Control TB/HIV Coinfection in Nepal |
Almost 50% of HIV-positive people living in Nepal will develop active tuberculosis, and it therefore is necessary to use DOTS or DOTS Plus to control the spread of the disease, speakers at the 23rd South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Charter Day said Sunday in Kathmandu, Nepal, the Rising Nepal reports. The Nepalese government is focusing on programs in rural areas that work with people to modify their behavior to prevent the spread of HIV and TB, Govinda Ojha, director of the Department of Health Services, said. Mahesh Maskey, chair of the Nepal Health Research Council, said the country's TB program could be applied to other health initiatives in Nepal.
At the event, physician V.S. Salhotra said the World Health Organization estimates that 3.5 % of TB cases in Southeast Asia are multi-drug resistant. He said a lack of funding for TB control efforts is part of the reason that more than 400,000 cases of MDR-TB are reported in the region annually. He added that poor drug management and inadequate infection control measures also are fueling the spread of MDR-TB. He said that DOTS Plus has been implemented in India and Nepal and that Bangladesh plans to use the program. Data about extensively drug-resistant TB, which is resistant to the two most potent first-line drugs and some of the available second-line drugs, in the region are not available, Salhotra said.
Also at the event, Lochana Shrestha, an epidemiologist at the SAARC TB Center, presented a paper about the media's role in TB and HIV/AIDS control. Shrestha said the media can play a key role in mobilizing public support, reducing social stigma of the diseases and creating community awareness. She added that because TB and HIV/AIDS have social and economic dimensions, the public health sector alone cannot address the challenges posed by the diseases.
About 45% of Nepal's population has TB, and 40,000 new active cases are reported each year, the Rising Nepal reports. Between 5,000 and 7,000 people in the country die annually from the disease, according to the SAARC TB and HIV/AIDS Center. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among people with TB in the SAARC region is about 0.05% in Afghanistan, 0.1% in Bangladesh, 0.2% in Bhutan, 5.2% in India, 2.4% in Nepal, 0.6% in Pakistan and 0.2% in Sri Lanka (Rising Nepal, 12/11).
id: tbnepal |
| (03/12/07) TB Alert Chief Executive - job advertisement and details |
Salary £45k p/a. plus pension. Brighton Based.
Can you take on a young, yet successful and respected organisation, be its first salaried CEO, and deliver a major step-change in our level of work and impact?
The successful candidate will understand both development and public health issues, and have the skills to lead the organisation and manage a professional staff team. Experience in project development, advocacy, or fundraising would be useful but essential are a sense of urgency and commitment, combined with ability, to respond to one of the world’s great killer diseases.
For job description, person specification and application details click here.
Application deadline: End of Sunday, 13th January 2008
If you have any problems downloading the pdf file, please call:
Melanie Matthews on 0845 223 5293 during office hours (our office is closed from end 21st December and re-opens 2nd January); or
Paul
Sommerfeld on 0845 223 5294 or 07976 860266 evenings and weekends (not Christmas day please!)
id: ceo |
| (01/12/07) World Aids Day statement from Dr Espinal |
On the occasion of World AIDS Day 2007, Dr Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, is calling on all countries, working with their partners, to do more to address the massive global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) among people living with HIV. "Too many people are dying needlessly as a result of TB, which is still a leading cause of death among people living with HIV. Every day that goes by without action adds to the unacceptable death toll in people and communities affected by TB and HIV," he said.
Throughout the world, 12% of all TB deaths occur in people living with HIV. TB kills up to half of all AIDS patients in some settings. Yet TB is a curable and preventable disease.
The majority of cases of tuberculosis in people living with HIV occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where up to 80% of TB patients may be co-infected with HIV." "The burden on Africa is of such high magnitude that there are grave concerns about this region reaching the Millennium Development Goal related to TB. Some African countries are stepping up their efforts on TB/HIV, however, which is very encouraging," Dr Espinal said.
Nevertheless greater investment by both endemic countries and donors is crucial, he stressed. "Investing in TB control is also an investment in HIV care; you cannot effectively deal with one without addressing the other," he said. "More investment in research to develop new diagnostics, medicines and vaccines also is critical."
Dr Espinal answered some frequently asked questions on the TB/HIV pandemic.
id: worldaidsday |
| (21/11/07) New Online TB Course from the World Medical Association |
The WMA has launched an online multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) tuberculosis training course. The unique web-based course has been designed for physicians to help them diagnose, prevent and treat MDR-TB.
The launch of this course follows a successful pilot among physicians in South Africa..
After the pilot was launched in March this year, 70 doctors enrolled for the course. Of these, 40 doctors completed the course by end August and on average, they took four weeks to complete the course. On completion, the doctors were issued with two certificates as part of their continuing professional development
Dr Otmar Kloiber, secretary general of the WMA, said:
"Every year almost two million people die from this disease and there are more than 400,000 news cases of MDR TB. It is vital that more physicians are properly trained to meet this public health challenge. The World Medical Association is in the forefront of seeking the improvement of tuberculosis treatment and surveillance. In particular it supports the World Health Organisation campaign for effective and high quality care for tuberculosis.
We also support the calls for adequate financial, material and human resources for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS prevention, including adequately trained health care professionals and adequate public health infrastructure.
This new course will provide physicians with the latest international guidelines and treatment protocols for MDR-TB care in their daily work. It will allow physicians to receive credits as part of their continuing medical education programme. It is available in English and will be translated into Spanish, French, Russian and Chinese. Access to the course is free of charge from the WMA website or on the education server of the Norwegian Medical Association. A handbook version of the course will also be available next year."
The course has been developed in collaboration with the Foundation for Professional Development of the South African Medical Association together with the Norwegian Medical Association and the German Medical Association. The course has been made possible by an educational grant from Eli Lilly, who form part of the MDR-TB partnership of organisations working together to improve tuberculosis control worldwide and supporting the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015.
The WMA, with the Norwegian Medical Association, already runs successful web-based courses on human rights and ethics for prison doctors and on fundamentals of medical ethics.
Click here to go to the WMA website for further details.
id: WMA |
| (13/11/07) Health Officials Calls for Increased Efforts To Develop TB Treatments. |
Nils Billo, executive director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, on Monday at the close of the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa, called for increasing efforts on tuberculosis research and drug development, Independent Online reports (Thom, Independent Online, 11/13). It is "urgent" to find new drugs and develop new vaccines for TB, and it is a "scandal that governments are not putting more money into" TB treatment research, he said. He added that "one of the reasons" TB research has received less attention than other diseases is it is a "disease of the poor" and "companies hesitate to invest in drug development" in developing countries.
According to Billo, HIV/AIDS and TB treatment programs should be administered together, and those who have one disease should routinely be tested for the other. "I think that is a very important point that has not yet been implemented programmatically in most of the countries," he said (Bobb,
VOA News, 11/12).
id: increaseefforts |
| (12/11/07) HIV/AIDS, TB Programms Must Cooperate To Save Lives, Health Officials Say |
A lack of cooperation between tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS programs is causing deaths from the two diseases in many countries, Alasdair Reid, HIV/TB adviser for UNAIDS, said on Friday at the
38th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa, the SAPA/Independent Online reports. According to Reid, all people living with TB should be offered HIV tests, as well as access to antiretroviral drugs. In addition, all HIV-positive people regularly should be screened for TB and provided with access to the preventive drug isoniazid, Reid said. "These lifesaving activities can be achieved with greater cooperation between TB and HIV programs," Reid said, adding, "They are cheap, simple and readily available in most countries" (SAPA/Independent Online, 11/9).
Paula Fujiwara -- senior technical adviser and director of the HIV/AIDS department at the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease -- at the conference said, "So far, many TB and HIV programs in Africa -- or anywhere in the world -- do not cooperate with one another, despite the strong connection that exists between HIV and TB." According to Fujiwara, competition is a major factor that prevents collaboration. "HIV has always been the big kid on the block, with TB being the little brother," she said, adding, "HIV programs and organizations seem to be afraid that TB takes away attention and funding" (Mannak, Inter Press Service
, 11/11).
Up to half of reported HIV/AIDS-related deaths are caused by TB, according to Reid. He added that in 2005, about 7% of people with TB worldwide were tested for HIV and that fewer than one in 200 people living with HIV/AIDS were tested for TB. "Globally, we are missing vital opportunities to offer better care and prevent unnecessary deaths among people living with HIV and among TB patients," Reid said. According to Reid, testing people who have TB for HIV and vice versa could lead to earlier detection, increased access to antiretrovirals and the prevention of "thousands of deaths" (AFP/Google.com, 11/9). Fujiwara said that in some African countries, 75% to 80% of people who have TB also are living with HIV/AIDS. World Health Organization data indicate that 90% of HIV-positive people in Africa die within months of contracting TB.
IUATLD has proposed a program -- called "Integrated Care for TB Patients Living with HIV/AIDS" -- to simultaneously address both diseases. Central components of the strategy include increased collaboration in addressing TB and HIV, and testing for the two diseases. The strategy is being tested in various countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. According to Reid, a new funding model should be developed to address the two diseases. "Currently, money is raised for either HIV or TB, and funds dedicated for HIV can't be used for TB or vice versa," he said, adding, "This has to change. When you want to tackle HIV you need to tackle TB, especially in Africa where so many people are co-infected" (
Inter Press Service, 11/11).
Early data from worldwide monitoring of joint TB/HIV activities have indicated some progress compared with previous years, according to the SAPA/Independent Online. Since 2005, there has been a threefold increase in the number of HIV-positive people who have been screened for TB and a sixfold increase in the number of people with TB who were tested for HIV. However, Reid said that without immediate action, "it will be very, very difficult" to achieve the HIV/AIDS targets in the U.N. Millennium Development Goals and that "thousands of people with HIV will continue to die of preventable, treatable" TB (SAPA/Independent Online, 11/9).
id: hivtbcoop |
| (9/11/07) Drug Resistant TB Global Threat, WHO Official Says |
The emergence of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis is threatening global control of the disease, Mario Raviglione, director of the World Health Organization's Stop TB Department, said Thursday at the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa, Reuters reports. "Scenarios of apocalyptic nature" related to the TB pandemic "are not likely," but they "are not ... impossible," Raviglione said, adding that about 96% of TB cases globally are treatable with the standard four-drug regimen and that 4% are multi-drug resistant (
Reuters, 11/8). Two billion people worldwide are living with TB, and about 450,000 people have a drug-resistant strain of the disease, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. Raviglione noted that the global TB epidemic appears to be peaking at about 8.8 million new active cases annually and that death rates are leveling off.
Forty-one countries have reported at least one case of extensively drug-resistant TB, but the figure could be higher because many African countries lack laboratories that can detect XDR-TB, which is resistant to the two most potent first-line treatments and some of the available second-line drugs, Raviglione said (Le Roux, AFP/Yahoo! News, 11/8). China, India, Russia and South Africa have the highest number of cases of MDR-TB and XDR-TB, accounting for up to 60% of the world's cases, according to Raviglione (Reuters, 11/8). The chance of XDR-TB becoming dominant is less than 5%, he said. "However, if you start inputting into the mathematical model a cure rate as low as it is in many countries of Africa today and the XDR epidemic not being addressed with a higher cure rate," then the 5% "becomes much more easily reachable," he added (AFP/Yahoo! News, 11/8). "It is crucial to develop more efficient and reliable ways to test people so they can be treated timely, so that they can't spread the disease further," he said (Mannak,
Inter Press Service, 11/9).
Experts at the conference said that seven new drugs are in clinical trials and that a vaccine candidate could be available in about 10 years, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. Jerald Sadoff, president of the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, said the new vaccine should be at least 70% more effective than the BCG vaccine. Giorgio Roscigno, CEO of Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, added that more investment, especially from governments, is needed to ensure that these sorts of efforts are successful (AFP/Yahoo! News, 11/8).
id: tbresistant |
| (11/10/07) TB is curable - new website |
Genus Pharmaceuticals have launched a new website designed to help raise awareness and improve understanding of TB, with the message "TB is curable" - click here
id: tbiscurablewebsite |
| (20/09/07) Former UN Messenger of Peace to fight tuberculosis as a Stop TB Ambassador |
Anna Cataldi, who served as UN Messenger of Peace from 1998 to 2007, has joined the global fight against tuberculosis (TB). Ms Cataldi, who was today appointed as an Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership, will raise awareness worldwide about the unfair burden of TB on refugees, migrants, people living in poverty and other disadvantaged groups.
"I am grateful to the Stop TB Partnership for giving me this opportunity to advocate on behalf of those suffering from this disease," Ms Cataldi said.
Welcoming the announcement, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised Anna Cataldi for her tireless efforts and devotion. "She was an active, compassionate and productive Messenger. She traveled to difficult places, such as Afghanistan and Somalia, to bring support, encouragement and hope to the desperate and voiceless. I am delighted she will now devote her energies to the Stop TB campaign," he said.
Press release
id: unmessengerofpeace |
| (19/09/07)
TB Alert Patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu
calls for action on Zimbabwe |
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu
says tougher action is needed to end the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate at an estimated 7,000%, and four out of five Zimbabweans live below the poverty line.
Read more about the issue on BBC News
Our work in Zimbabwe
id: tutuzimbabwe |
| (18/09/07) Party Conference Season Advocacy on MDGs |
Action for Global Health (of which TB Alert is a UK partner), the European Alliance Against Malaria and RESULTS UK, have come together to highlight their concerns that Europe can do more to help developing countries achieve the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Click here to download details of events at the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat's Party Conferences.
id: enter an unique id here |
| (18/09/07)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commits $280 Million for TB Research |
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced $280 million in grants to speed development of TB vaccines and diagnostic tests and anti-TB drugs. The funds are specifically dedicated to supporting the priorities of the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015).
The grants focus on three areas:
• Vaccine development: $200 million over five years to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation to conduct clinical trials of up to six TB vaccine candidates.
• Diagnostics: $62 million over five years to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to develop TB tests that are more accurate and simpler to use.
• Diagnostics: $62 million over five years to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to develop TB tests that are more accurate and simpler to use.
• Drug discovery: Nine grants totalling $18 million to identify new TB treatments to combat drug resistance. Grant recipients in this category include the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Colorado State University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Johns Hopkins University, Ordway Research Institute, Northeastern University and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
Welcoming the announcement, Dr. Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, noted that TB is a major threat, and stopping it must be a top global priority. “We have an achievable action plan to reduce the TB burden, and it is encouraging to see new resources going to Stop TB partners to support this plan,” he said.
Source: http://www.stoptb.org
id: billgates280 |
| (10/09/07) International Health Partnership joins Fight against TB |
Dr Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, today welcomed the launch of the International Health Partnership, which seeks among other goals, to step up the fight against TB.
Creation of the Partnership was announced on Wednesday in London by Prime Minister Gordon Brown who, in his speech, called on donor governments, health agencies and developing countries to step up the fight against TB, polio, measles and other ancient scourges. “There is no greater cause than that every man, woman and child in the world should be able to benefit from the best medicine and healthcare," Mr Brown said.
The new Partnership's overall aim is to meet the eight Millennium Development Goals agreed by the United Nations to help eradicate global poverty and combat disease.
The 10 Downing Street launch was also attended by Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg and French development minister Jean-Marie Bockel. Organizations that have signed on as partners include UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria.
Source: http://www.stoptb.org
id: stoptbpartnership |
| (03/09/07) Africa's Fight against TB 'Outdated' |
Many countries — especially in Africa — are still using outdated and less effective treatment methods for tuberculosis (TB), say the authors of a paper published in The Lancet last week (23 August).
Fighting the worldwide TB epidemic and getting advances in treatment to those most at risk requires a combination of endeavour, resources and political will, they say.
One of the authors, Gary Maartens, of the University of Cape Town Medical School, South Africa, told SciDev.Net that policymakers "need to foster research in their countries", not only to build local capacity but to "bring their countries closer to new developments so that they can be implemented if shown to be effective".
But, he warned, massive support, and partnerships between industry, academics and public health "is required for research into new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines".
Maartens told SciDev.Net that there is a "healthy pipeline" of new drugs and vaccines, but "testing these in large clinical trials is expensive and the funding agencies need to commit more resources".
The authors of the paper also highlight the need to address the catastrophic HIV-driven epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
A researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and TB specialist, Jeremiah Chakaya, told SciDev.Net that research into new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines — especially for the developing world — has been long neglected.
"Policymakers and pharmaceutical companies should rethink their positions and give political and financial support for new discoveries in methods for treating TB," Chakaya said.
"We are forced to use outdated methods of curing TB because of the unavailability of resources for both research activities, acquisition of new technologies and production of new drugs," he said.
Currently, because of inadequate diagnostic tests, some patients experience dangerous delays in starting treatment, he added.
Reference: The Lancet doi 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61262-8
Source: http://www.scidev.net/
id: africafighttb |
(03/09/07) Experts Working to Develop Rapid, Cost-Effective TB Test for HIV-Affected Populations
|
Researchers in Wales and South Africa are working to develop a rapid, cost-effective device that can be used by health care workers worldwide to screen for tuberculosis among populations with high rates of HIV/AIDS, BBC News reports. Jan Verschoor, a professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and Mark Baird and Maher Kalaji, chemistry professors at the University of Wales-Bangor, are collaborating on the project. According to Verschoor, TB can reduce the life expectancy of a person with HIV/AIDS from 10 years to about four weeks. He said that antiretroviral drugs sometimes can cause people coinfected with HIV/AIDS and TB to go into anaphylactic shock, adding that a more rapid test is needed for accurate treatment regimens for both diseases to be implemented. Verschoor said a prototype TB testing device could be developed within three years. HIV/TB coinfection has reduced the average life expectancy of people in South Africa by about 10 years since 2000, BBC News reports (BBC News, 8/17).
Read more about the issue on TB/HIV
id: tbhivtest |
| (30/07/07) New TB Vaccine in trials |
Clinical trials are underway with the first new vaccine against TB in over 80 years. If successful, the tests will have major implications for TB control and could lead to the development of a new vaccine ready to use within eight years.
Read more from the University of Oxford
id: enter an unique id here |
| (27/07/07) Skandavale Sacred Bull Shambo led to the slaughter |
The staff of TB Alert would like to offer their sympathy to the monks of Skandavale whose sacred bull Shambo was led away to be slaughtered today, because he may have had Bovine TB.
Read more from the Guardian
Read the Sunday Times article by Rod Liddle
Read more from the Skandavale website
Read TB Alert's article about Shambo in May
RIP Shambo.
id: RIPShambo |
| (15/07/07) Action for Global Health Newsletter- Summer Edition 2007 |
Read about: 'Health Warning', a new report on the health Millennium Development Goals; Gordon Brown's vision for development and global health; changes at DFID; and an update on G8. Download your copy by clicking here. To have the newsletter delivered directly to your inbox click here.
id: enter an unique id here |
| (09/07/07) Health Warning! Europe must do more for world's poorest people |
Action for Global Health has launched a 'Health Warning!' to European governments that they must do more if we are to achieve the health Millennium Development Goals. These goals are severely off track with the report clearly stating that a 'business as usual approach' will mean we miss this one off chance to improve the health of some of the poorest people in the world.
As European governments fail to fulfil their commitments on improving health in developing countries and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Gordon Brown’s government can act now and show leadership within Europe by ensuring that at least 15% of all aid to developing countries is allocated to providing better healthcare for all. This is the conclusion of a report by Action for Global Health, a new partnership of 15 non-governmental organisations across Europe.
Based on the findings of the report, Action for Global Health is calling on the UK government to publicly acknowledge the lack of progress made towards the health MDGs, and to commit to a new target date of 2009 to meet the donors’ funding target – estimated at $27 billion in 2007, rising to $38 billion by 2015 – to ensure the health MDGs can be met and health systems in developing countries improve significantly.
Present global health inequalities mean that 28 times more children die before their fifth birthday in Sub Saharan Africa than in the UK.
Action for Global Health is specifically calling on the UK government:
1) to increase its funding (Official Development Assistance) for global health to 0.1% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2013. In 2006 the Department for International Development allocated 0.043% of GNI as ODA for health;
2) to prioritise long-term, sustainable investment in health systems in developing countries by increasing the number of countries with which it has 10 year partnership arrangements; and use this as a model to show other European governments how they can best strengthen health systems in developing countries; and
3) To structure its development policies and strategy on health around the health Millennium Development Goals.
The health Millennium Development Goals are a one-off chance to build up the health systems of developing countries. The report focuses on the level of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for health required from the European Union in general, and from the biggest economies of Europe specifically (the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain)
The report shows that Europe is failing to fulfil its promises to allocate 0.7% of GNI to ODA. Today only 4 of 15 European countries are on track. All countries are well below 0.1% of GNI as aid for health. (See table 1). Due to this lack of funding for health, Europe is contributing to major inequalities between health in Western European countries and developing countries.
For example:
*The life expectancy of a person born in Italy is 81 years on average, whereas in Nigeria the life expectancy is on average 45 years.
*The rate of deaths of mothers in childbirth across the developed countries averages between 10-14 deaths per 100,000 live births and in Sub Saharan Africa the figure is 921 deaths per 100,000 live births.
*In Sub Saharan Africa 168 in every 1000 children die before their fifth birthday and in the UK it is only 6 per 1000.
In a recorded message to launch the global health report, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said:
“We are now half-way to the target date of 2015 when the Millennium Development Goals need to be achieved. At this stage the money and the systems were supposed to be in place to allow health to improve enough to meet the targets, but are they? It appears that many governments, north and south, have forgotten what they promised or have used a change of leadership to get out of their commitments."
Dr Julian Lob-Levyt, Executive Secretary, GAVI Alliance said:
“As we reach the mid-point towards the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, this report reaffirms the urgent need to accelerate our momentum. This will require increased, more predictable funding from donors and a flexible financing architecture that supports the health strategies of developing countries. Only if we align all our efforts can we turn global health goals into measurable improvements in the lives of women and children in the poorest countries."
To download your copy of the Health Warning! report click here.
For more information about Action for Global Health, including signing up for our newsletters, click here.
id: healthwarning |
| (15/06/07) TB Alert patient advocate on Radio 4 |
Cured TB patient Carl Liebel will be telling the story of his experience with TB to Fi Glover on Radio 4's Saturday Live (9-10am Saturday 16th June).
If you dont get a chance to listen at the time, you can "listen again" any time in the week after broadcast by going to the Saturday Live Website.
One of TB Alert's main aims as a charity is to raise awareness of Tuberculosis in the UK and worldwide. In the absence of an effective vaccine (BCG can help protect some people - but does not prevent TB), the best way to prevent the spread of TB is to quickly diagnose and cure the patients who have it so that they cant pass it on. Carl's story highlights the fact that patients can go undiagnosed for too long because doctors do not think to check for TB.
TB Alert's Awareness Officer and volunteer patient advocates like Carl have worked together to put forward information, stories and pictures to newspapers, magazines, tv and radio - reaching more than 4 million people over the last year. Based on average UK TB rates, at least 5-600 of these people will get TB in the next year - and having already read or heard about TB and its symptoms are much more likely to be diagnosed quickly.
If you miss Carl's story - click here to see Carl, and another cured TB patient Anna Watterson tell their stories in the Express Newspaper
id: carl160607 |
| (15/06/07) TB Toolkit launched |
In order to assist the NHS with implementing the TB action plan, Stopping Tuberculosis in England, the Department of Health today published a toolkit to enable PCT commissioners plan and commission high-quality TB services for their local population, and monitor their delivery.
The Toolkit sets out a framework for assessing local needs, and identifying how services can be best provided to meet those needs. It also contains models of best practice aimed at TB service providers, including laboratories and public health teams.
To download a copy of the toolkit - click here
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| (13/06/07) Lilly receives TB award |
Lilly MDR TB Partnership received the GBC Business Excellence on Tuberculosis Award today.
Patrizia Carlevero,
Head of Lilly's International Aid Unit – Geneva, Switzerland, paid tribute to all of the Lilly MDR-TB partners, including TB Alert, in an email announcing the award:
"This would not have been possible without your vision, commitment, hard work and team spirit. THANK YOU."
Read more
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| (04/06/07) A Beacon of Hope for Africa |
The recent appointment of Elizabeth Mataka as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's new Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa is a first in many ways.
Elizabeth Mataka is the first African to be appointed as a Special Envoy. She is the first woman
to be appointed at so high a level to respond to the challenge of HIV in Africa. She is also the
first national of Botswana to be called to such an elevated post, and the first individual to move
directly from civil society to such an esteemed and responsible position.
Read more...
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| (29/05/07) Stop TB Partnership Global Drug Facility has reached 10 million with treatment |
The Global Drug Facility announced today that it has delivered anti-TB treatments for 10 million people in 78 countries since it was founded six years ago. Read more
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| (14/05/07) Vitamin D "may help ward off TB" |
A dose of vitamin D may help ward off tuberculosis, research suggests.
A study of 131 people found the vitamin helped to boost the ability of the body to inhibit the growth of bacteria that causes the respiratory disease.
Researchers from Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Imperial College said it could be used to target at-risk patients or added to drinks.
Professor Peter Davies, a TB specialist and TB Alert Trustee, said: "We have known for a while vitamin D could help and it is good to see it being confirmed in such a study.
What makes this potentially a very good intervention is that it is cheap and easy to administer. But we need to await the clinical trials."
Read more (BBC News Website)
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| (11/05/07) Sacred Bull at Welsh Hindu Temple under Notice of Slaughter |
A Notice to Slaughter has been served on a bull called Shambo who is kept by an order of monks at Skanda Vale Temple in Llanpumsaint, Wales, following weeks of talks between the Temple, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG).
The issue of Bovine TB is complex, with experts advising that, if a cow tests positive following a tuberculin skin test, slaughter is the best option to halt the spread of the disease to further herds.
 Just like in humans, a skin test in an animal can be postive for one of several reasons;
- the animal has active TB which, if the animal is showing clinical signs of the disease, may be infectious to other animals and humans.
- the animal has latent
TB which means the infection is not causing the animal harm and is not infectious to other animals or humans. As with latent TB in humans, the TB can activate months or years later.
- the animal has had repeated skin tests over its lifetime which has caused the animal to develop an immune response to the tuberculin used in the test but there is no TB present.
There is also a blood test - the gamma interferon test - which has been introduced in combination with the skin test by DEFRA to try and further confirm a diagnosis and prevent animals being slaughtered when no TB bacteria are present. However, the test cannot confirm whether the TB is active or latent in the animal and TB is usually only confirmed in animals at post mortem.
TB is a bacterial infection which requires a long phase of treatment (in humans lasting at least six months) and it is very important that a complete course of treatment is taken to ensure the bacteria have been fully killed off. In the case of most livestock, it would be very difficult and expensive for farmers to ensure the animal or animals completed the full course of treatment.
Shambo the bull's case is highly unusual in that the monks have pledged that, if he shows any clinical signs of TB, they will ensure that he is treated for the infection. They have closely consulted with their vet who has confirmed that Shambo is not showing any clinical signs of the disease. Because he is not kept as commercial livestock and will never be sold on, he would not enter the food chain or infect other herds. As an extra precaution, the monks have also created a special space for Shambo so that he is not mixing with the other animals at the Temple - they keep many other animals including an elephant but do not carry out any commercial farming of the animals. None of the other cattle have tested positive at the Temple and Shambo's first most recent routine test was inconclusive, the second test 60 days later was positive.
The monks practise the
Sanathana Dharma
form of Hinduism and strongly believe that all life and all nature is sacred. None of their animals are "put down", all efforts are made to treat their animals for any condition. All of their animals die natural deaths in accordance with the religious beliefs of the monks. The monks have started an online petition to save Shambo and pledge that they will protect his life with their own if necessary.
The Welsh Assembly Government has so far declined to waiver the Notice to Slaughter but have said that "every effort will be made to deal with this case as sensitively as possible". Shambo's story was covered in the news across many countries on Wednesday 9th May. The British Cattle Vetinary Association
has stated that "to achieve effective control those animals testing positive for TB must be removed from the cattle population".
On 10th May, Andrew Didsmore, Labour MP for Hendon tabled a House of Commons motion and raised an urgent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State asking him to repreive Shambo.
TB Alert hopes that it will be possible to find a workable compromise for all concerned.
Click on the links below to see;
TB Alert's web page on TB in Animals
DEFRA's web pages on Bovine TB
The Skanda Vale Temple's
web page on Shambo
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| (31/03/07) Developments Magazine interviews Sir John |
The latest issue of the DfID magazine Developments features an article by Nick Thorpe on the contribution to the fight against TB by TB Alert's Honorary President Sir John Crofton....Read the article
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| (28/03/07) Advocate for TB - Ask YOUR MP to support the call for more resources for TB in the UK |
An Early Day Motion, or EDM, is a motion put down ("tabled") by Members of Parliament calling for a debate on a particular subject. In practice, there is rarely time to debate EDMs nowadays and their true modern-day purpose is to enable MPs to draw attention to an issue and to canvass support for their views by inviting other Members to add their signatures in support of the motion.
The Early Day Motion states
" That this House notes with concern the recently published Health Protection Agency statistics which reported the biggest rise in the number of TB cases since 1999; is further concerned by reports that TB specialist nurse positions are being left vacant or downgraded despite the publication of the Chief Medical Officer's TB Action Plan of 2004; and calls upon the Government to confront the problem of TB now by ensuring that the TB Action Plan is implemented and greater priority given to tackling the increasing burden of TB in all parts of the United Kingdom "
Click here to see the early day motion and the list of MPs who have signed in support.
YOU can help generate more support to the EDM by asking your MP to sign it
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| (24/03/07) TB Manifesto Launched |
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on TB launched its manifesto for action on World TB Day. The manifesto calls for a scaling up of action to fight the disease in the poorest countries. To download your copy of the manifesto, click here.
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| (24/03/07) New Scientist Feature on XDR-TB |
On World Stop TB Day, the New Scientist has published a feature which takes an in depth look at Extensively Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB) globally. It concludes that
"In the longer term, a key goal is to develop new antibiotics effective against TB. The pharamceutical industry has long neglected the disease, as it has mainly affected the poor........We also need to be able to diagnose cases of XDR-TB much more quickly than the present time of two months..... By that time the patient could have infected many others - and patients with HIV could be dead..... The World Health Organisation says $650 million a year is need to treat the estimated 1.5million with MDR or XDR-TB worldwide - of which so far it only has $250 million. Perhaps the first known case of completely drug-resistant TB will help galvanise global concern...."
Click here to go to the preview of the New Scientist article
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| (23/03/07) SciDev.Net World TB Day issue |
A collection of news, views and information to mark World TB Day tomorrow and highlight some of the issues facing TB control in the developing world - go to SciDev.Net
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| (22/03/07) Studies show UK TB Services are under-resourced |
Studies carried out by TB Alert and the British Thoracic Society (BTS)show that UK TB Services are under-resourced. In a Press release by TB Alert, BTS and the British Lung Foundation,
Chair of TB Alert, Paul Sommerfeld, said
"TB numbers are still rising despite optimistic predictions in the 2004 TB Action Plan of a drop within three years. It is deeply troubling that at the same time resources for TB services are drying up. It should be clear that the London guideline of one specialist TB nurse per 40 TB cases must applyto all high-incidence TB areas. It is unacceptable that barely a third ofsuch areas meet this standard."
click here to read the full release
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| (22/03/07) Further increase in UK TB cases announced |
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) today announced that cases of tuberculosis (TB) in England , Wales and Northern Ireland have increased 2% from 8,008 cases reported in 2005 to 8,171 in 2006..... more
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| (22/03/07) New study on TB in migrant African Communities |
"A multi-method Community-based Participatory Research study of TB in migrant African communities in the borough of Westminster, London"
The findings of this study suggest that, post-migration, a range of inter-connected
structural influences may impact on the epidemiology and control of TB in migrant
African communities in Westminster.
click here to read the executive summary
click here to
read the full report
id: Westminster Study |
| (07/03/07) XDR-TB must be controlled to protect immunocompromised individuals (WHO) |
Health experts need to contain the spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, TB that is resistant to the two most potent first-line treatments and some of the available second-line drugs, so that it does not spread among people with compromised immune systems, Mario Raviglione, head of the
World Health Organization's Stop TB Department, said recently, Reuters reports. According to Raviglione, XDR-TB could trigger a wave of deaths among people living with HIV/AIDS, who are more vulnerable to the disease, given the difficulty in treating the strain. "Either we intervene rapidly to stop the spread of this strain or you could foresee in the future that this strain would replace the other one," Raviglione said, adding, "That would make it practically uncontrollable." He said enhanced diagnostic tools and better health care practices, such as isolation rooms for people with XDR-TB, are crucial to curbing the spread of the disease. He also said that because it might be five years before new drugs to successfully treat XDR-TB are available, countries need to improve their laboratory capacities to rapidly detect drug-resistant TB strains. "In South Africa they are capable, that is why they discovered it," Raviglione said, adding, "But we don't know what's happening in Mozambique and Lesotho, in Swaziland, in Zimbabwe." He added that the strain could be widespread in Southern Africa.
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| (05/03/07) MDR-TB spreading in Russia |
Russia has become a "breeding ground for drug-resistant strains" of tuberculosis, and some people with the disease are developing extensively drug-resistant TB, which is resistant to the two most potent first-line treatments and some of the available second-line drugs, the Toronto Star reports. According to the World Health Organization, there were 120,000 new TB cases in Russia in 2005, almost 20% of which were multi-drug resistant. Most TB cases in the country are spread in its "overcrowded and underfunded prison system," according to the Star. Alcoholics, homeless people and migrant workers also are vulnerable to TB, but people in the general population are increasingly contracting the disease, health experts say. In addition, most Russian doctors, including TB specialists, are not aware of XDR-TB, according to the Star. The Russian government is addressing the spread of drug-resistant TB by allocating more funding to health care, the Star reports (Mainville, Toronto Star, 3/3). The government last month approved a five-year, $2.9 billion draft program to combat diseases, including TB and HIV/AIDS, in an effort to improve the country's life expectancy (GlobalHealthReporting.org, 2/23). In addition, the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the next five years plans to provide roughly $100 million for TB projects in Russia, most of which will go toward training doctors and purchasing new equipment to combat drug-resistant strains of the disease. Sergei Borisov, deputy director of the Phthisio-Pulmonary Institute in Moscow, said that along with allocating increased funding, Russia needs to address social issues such as alcoholism, poverty and inadequate housing in order to combat the spread of TB. "The fight against TB in Russia is not only a medical problem," Borisov said, adding, "It's a social problem"
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| (05/03/07) TB patient in the news |
Law student, TB patient, and TB Alert volunteer Amy McConville's story was featured today on the front page of Metro Newspaper (read the on-line article here) - reaching over 1 million people to raise awareness of TB. Amy is due to have an operation to have a lung removed and wants to make sure more people know about the disease so they don't have to go through what she has.
The article was followed up with a story from another TB patient Carl Liebel (read Carl's story). Carl's brush with TB was also quite a saga and resulted in him having to "break out" of an Austrian isolation unit. Carl also wants to help raise awareness of the disease and will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this summer to fundraise for TB Alert.
TB Alert awareness officer, Tina Harrison was consulted by the Metro which also included a half-page information piece about TB - what it is and some facts and figures.
Amy was also on GMTV this morning, and will be featured this week in Pick me Up Magazine which comes out on Thursday, on Channel 5 news tomorrow and in local Brighton paper the Argus.
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| (28/02/07) Tests in Aberdeenshire nursing home |
The Aberdeen Evening Express is shocked to find out TB is still with us when it should have been eradicated 50 years ago. Read more
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| (26/02/07) BNP leader who blames TB on immigrants has TB |
BNP leader Richard Barnbrook was said to be "furious" to find out he had TB and tried to use this as an attack on immigrants. The Mirror's article fights back with facts! Read more from the Mirror
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| (20/02/07) RSM Conference - Screening for TB, 13th June 2007 |
A one-day conference organised by the Royal Society of Medicine in association with The Section of Respiratory Medicine and TB Alert. This meeting aims to inform participants about the usefulness and practicalities of screening for tuberculosis; both active disease and latent infection.
For further details, click here to see the flyer (Word file opens in new window) or please contact Primrose Ante-Bennett on tel (+44) 020 7290 2965; fax (+44) 020 7290 2977 or email primrose.ante-bennett@rsm.ac.uk and to book on-line visit the RSM website at http://www.rsm.ac.uk/academ/c10-tb.htm
Accreditation: 5 CPD credits (applied for)
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| (12/01/07) London Advanced TB Course February 22-23 2007 |
For Specialist Registrars, General Practitioners, Nurse Specialists,
Public Health Specialists, Consultants and other
Healthcare professionals wishing to update
their knowledge of tuberculosis.
Speakers include:
Peter Ormerod, John Watson, Doug Young, Ajit Lalvani, Francis
Drobniewski, Marc Lipman, Beate Kampmann, Onn Min Kon,
Annette Jepson, Ranju Dhawan, David Alland, and others.
Click here to view further details of the event (PDF File 0.19MB)
Click here for the draft programme (Word file 0.8MB)
Click here for the booking form
(Word file 0.5MB)
All files open in new windows
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