June 2002 issue of the Stop TB Communiqué
STOP TB COMMUNIQUE
Issue 21, June 2002
1. NEWS FROM THE STOP TB PARTNERSHIP SECRETARIAT
An innovative approach to securing treatment compliance
For more information see News 24 online: http://www.news24.com/News24/Health/Health_News/0,1113,2-14-660_1204225,00.html
2. NEWS FROM THE STOP TB WORKING GROUPS
DOTS Expansion Working Group
a. Accelerating Efforts to Stop TB in the WHO European Region
During the last decade TB has become a serious problem in the WHO European Region, particularly in some countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU). An alarming increase in TB notification, MDR-TB rates in some FSU countries, an increase in HIV infection and the dramatic situation of TB in prisons pose additional threats to TB control in the region.
In order to discuss the most effective TB control measures in the region, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Royal Netherlands Tuberculosis Association (KNCV) organized the National Tuberculosis Programme Managers’ Meeting (7-9 June) in Wolfheze, the Netherlands. Over 100 participants – national TB programme managers, government representatives, medical specialists from 45 countries and representatives of partner organizations – took part in the meeting.
DOTS has been implemented in 34 countries in the region. However, only 17% of the population live in areas where all elements of the DOTS strategy have been implemented. The new tools for TB control such as the Global TB Drug Facility, the Green Light Committee and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which recently became available, were presented with practical recommendations on how to apply to them. In support of a comprehensive approach to medical and social problems, the participants discussed the importance of training and education in TB control and paid particular attention to the problems specific to eastern Europe and FSU countries: multidrug resistant tuberculosis, including the situation in the prison sector (Russian Federation), and the constraints to DOTS sustainability (Estonia, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine).
Finally, an overview of TB control and DOTS expansion plans globally and for the WHO European Region was discussed, followed by country presentations on the challenges for DOTS expansion. The country representatives approved the second draft of the "DOTS Expansion Plan to Stop TB in the WHO European Region" and recommended that it be adopted by all WHO EURO Member States. The Plan will be presented at the WHO Regional Committee in September 2002 and this will accelerate DOTS expansion in the region and strengthen TB control.
b. The Global DOTS Expansion Working Group (GDEWG) Meeting
will take place on 5 and 6 October 2002 in Montreal.The venue for the first day of the meeting is the Wyndham hotel and for the second day the Palais des Congrès. Please find below the contact details of the Wyndham hotel, should you want to make reservations:
Wyndham Montreal TB/HIV at the World AIDS Conference, Barcelona
1255 Jeanne Mance Street, C.P.130
Montreal, Canada H5B 1E5
Phone: 514-285-1450
Fax: 514-285-1243
http://www.wyndham.com/Montreal/default.cfm
Working Group on TB/HIV
Satellite symposium proposed jointly by WHO Stop TB and HIV/AIDS Departments: TB/HIV – a joint action agenda
Date and venue: 14.00-16.00 on Sunday 7 July 2002, Hall 5:7, World AIDS Conference, Barcelona
Background: TB is a leading cause of disease and death in people living with HIV/AIDS, and HIV is fuelling the TB epidemic. TB and HIV programmes therefore share mutual concerns: HIV prevention should be a priority concern for TB control; TB care and prevention should be priority concerns for HIV programmes. TB and HIV programmes need to collaborate to deliver the joint TB/HIV action agenda.
Objectives:
1) To provide an overview of the scale of the problem of HIV-related TB though an update
of the global epidemiology of HIV-related TB.
2) To indicate the proposed way forward in response, through an overview of the WHO global
TB/HIV strategic framework and of guidelines for phased implementation of collaborative TB
& HIV programme activities.
3) To give examples of country experience of collaborative TB & HIV programme
activities, through a review of ProTEST projects and of experiences in Thailand and
Uganda.
Co-chairs:
Dr Jos Perriens, HIV/AIDS Dept, WHO and Dr J.W. Lee, Director Stop TB Dept, WHO.
Topics and speakers:
TB/HIV epidemiology
Dr Liz Corbett-Butterworth, Zimbabwe
Global strategic framework to decrease the burden of TB/HIV
Dr Dermot Maher, Stop TB Department, WHO Geneva
Progress in the "ProTEST" Initiative
Mr Rehab Chimzizi, Malawi
Guidelines for phased implementation of collaborative TB and HIV programme activities
Dr Fabio Scano, WHO Headquarters, Switzerland
Country experience of TB and HIV programme collaboration in Asia: the example of
Thailand
Dr Tawaseep Siraprapasiri, Director, AIDS Division, Bangkok, Thailand
Country experience of TB and HIV programme collaboration in Africa: the example of
Uganda
Dr Francis Adatu-Engwau, National TB Programme Manager, Uganda
Working Group on New TB Diagnostics
Request for Applications - Tuberculosis Diagnostics Initiative/TDR
The Tuberculosis Diagnostics Initiative at WHO/TDR invites applications for 3 grants programs, as listed below.
RFA: RFA-TBDI-2002-01
"Bright Ideas" Program for Novel TB Diagnostic Methods
This is the second year of funding through this program, meant to encourage the development of entirely new approaches to the diagnosis of clinical tuberculosis. These grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for the exploration of novel concepts or mechanisms to detect M. tuberculosis, its products, or host responses with diagnostic potential. Proposals are encouraged from groups working in other areas, including those in the physical and chemical sciences, with expertise in novel technologies that might be applied towards the detection of tuberculosis.
RFA: RFA-TBDI-2002-03
Development of reference collection of clinical materials: the TB Specimen Bank
Lack of access to good clinical material from well-characterised TB and control patients is a major obstacle to the development and testing of new assays. Through a global network of clinical/laboratory sites with good diagnostics capabilities, TBDI has established a large WHO/TDR TB Specimen Bank containing meticulously processed clinical samples from well-characterised patients with symptomatic respiratory disease. This RFA will support the expansion of that collaborative network to Specimen Bank enrollment sites in additional geographic areas.
RFA: RFA-TBDI-2002-05
Sputum Smear Microscopy Optimization Project
These grants will be awarded, on a competitive basis, for the exploration of innovative methodologies to increase the operational utility of sputum smear microscopy. Field performance of this test is frequently poor, and compared to in vitro diagnostic tests for most other infectious diseases, it is laborious, unpleasant, and insensitive. Research proposals are encouraged from groups working with in methods or technologies that may be applied to increase the rapidity, sensitivity, simplicity and bio-safety of this diagnostic method.
3. NEWS FROM THE GLOBAL TB DRUG FACILITY
Drug Management Meeting
From 6-8th June, the GDF convened a meeting in Washington with KNCV and MSH in order to improve TB drug management, in order to accelerate DOTS expansion in a number of countries. Participants from Stop TB partners, drug management organisations and country participants from National TB programmes and Central Drug Administration from 18 countries took part in the meeting. The meeting had 5 objectives:
Presentations and discussions focused on in-country strengths and weaknesses in drug management, standardisation of products for TB programmes, indicators for monitoring in-country drug management activities, blister packs, quality assurance issues and the role of NTPs in drug management in decentralised health systems.
By the end of the meeting, each country had developed an action plan to improve drug management. The plans will be implemented and monitored over the coming months and a series of regional drug management meetings will be held to extend this opportunity to other countries.
GDF Applications and Review Update
Activity |
To date |
| Rounds of applications and review | 3 |
| Number of counties applying for GDF support | 38 |
| Number of countries approved for support | 24 |
| Drug orders placed | 16 |
| Number of patient treatments approved (inc. buffer stocks) | 1,150,780 |
| Number of countries which have received drug deliveries | 11 |
4. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Click here1st FEMS Congress of European Microbiologists,
Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 29 - July 3
6th International Meeting on Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics in
Infectious Diseases
Paris, France, July 24-27
The World of Microbes
http://www.iums-paris-2002.com/
Paris, France, July 27 - August 1
3rd European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health
http://www.kit.de/tropical2002/
Lisbon, Portugal, September 8-12
12th European Respiratory Society
http://www.ersnet.org/2/2/2_2.asp
Stockholm, Sweden, September 14-18
42nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
http://www.icaac.org/ICAAC.asp
San Diego, California, USA, September 27-30
DOTS Expansion Working Group Meeting
Montreal, Canada, October 5-6
IUATLD 33rd World Conference on Lung Health
http://www.iuatld2002.org/
Montreal, Canada, October 6-10
2003
13th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
http://www.escmid.org/preview.html?meetings.html