Previous events

The Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation organized a planning meeting to accelerate the implementation of collaborative HIV/TB in selected sub-Saharan African countries, which carries the brunt of the burden of the TB and HIV dual epidemic. The meeting was held on March 6-7, 2007 in Washington DC, USA. The countries included were Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda and Zambia. Participants at the meeting included National TB and HIV/AIDS Control Programme managers, heads of national TB and HIV laboratories, HIV/TB focal points from country PEPFAR teams and representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Fund against AIDS, TB and Malaria, OGAC, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), WHO and selected members of the Core Group of the TB/HIV Working Group of the Stop TB Partnership. The meeting was open by Ambassador Mark Dybul who reiterated the importance of collaborative TB/HIV activities and announced the availability of an additional $50 million supplemental funding for all PEPFAR focus countries for HIV/TB in 2007. Click here for the meeting report

Summary of the TB/HIV meeting at 14th conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections

Sunday 25 February 2007, Los Angeles, USA

The Global TB/HIV Working Group of the Stop TB Partnership in collaboration with the Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS TB Epidemic (CREATE) has organized a TB/HIV meeting in conjunction with the 14th Conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections in Los Angeles, USA. About 40 leading researchers in the field attended the meeting and was co-chaired by Dr D. Havlir, chairperson of the Global TB/HIV Working Group and Dr S. Lehrman Director, Therapeutics Research Program, Division of AIDS, NIH, USA. The main objective of this meeting was to familiarise selected participants of the Conference with the functions of the Global TB/HIV Working Group (WG) of the Stop TB Partnership and to share and discuss key TB/HIV research issues and ongoing efforts. The meeting raised the awareness about the Global TB/HIV WG and a one pager brief about the WG was distributed. Presentations were done and discussions conducted about the ongoing research efforts and priorities around key areas (see presentations below). The importance of TB prevention in people living with HIV has been emphasized and research priorities including screening algorithms to rule out TB and best tools to diagnose latent TB were discussed. The possibility of developing a single prophylaxis tablet for people living with HIV for the commonest opportunistic illnesses, including TB was raised during the discussion. The research priorities and ongoing efforts about ART for TB patients were presented. However, it was appalling to learn that most of the reported studies that intended to study ART delivery among TB patients were either stopped or crinkling, which was worrisome particularly in the face of the multiple unanswered questions of ART delivery in TB patients. The case definition of Immune reconsistition syndrome (IRIS) in TB patients, which was the outcome of an earlier meeting that was held in Uganda, Kampala has been presented. The following major and minor criteria were presented. Major criteria include: (1)New/enlarging lymph nodes, cold abscesses or other focal tissue involvement; (2) New/worsening radiological features of TB; (3)Breakthrough TB meningitis or new/enlarging focal CNS lesion; (4)New or Worsening serositis. Minor criteria include: (1)Constitutional symptoms- e.g., fever, night sweats;(2) Respiratory symptoms - e.g., cough, dyspnea, stridor;(3) Abdominal pain and/or hepatomegaly;(4) Resolution of clinical and/or radiological findings without change in TB treatment. A patient is classified as TB IRIS if has one major or 2 minor criteria. The urgent research priorities to accelerate the implementation of the new global recommendations to expedite the diagnosis and management of TB in HIV prevalent and resource constrained settings and the research priority implications of extensively resistant TB(XDR TB) were presented. There was high level of interest from the participants on all topics and it was agreed that a follow-up meeting in conjunction with the upcoming IAS 2007 Conference in Sydney will be useful. It was suggested that the WG should find a systematic way of registering and following up ongoing clinical trials of ART in TB patients in a more updated way through constant and close consultation with partners such as the NIH. It needs to develop a targeted research advocacy agenda and monitor the implementation of the research priority questions identified in 2005.

Agenda and Presentations

13:00-13:05 Welcome and overview of the Global TB/HIV Working Group ( Diane Havlir, UCSF, USA and Chair of the WG)
13:05-13:15 TB prevention for HIV patients: priorities and ongoing research efforts (Richard Chaisson, John Hopkins, USA)
13:20-13:30 Discussion
13:30-13:40 HIV treatment for TB patients: priorities and ongoing research efforts (Fabio Scano, WHO, Switzerland)
13:40-13:50 IRIS-TB: priorities and updates from a recent international meeting (Graeme Meintjes, South Africa)
13:50-14:10 Discussion
14:10-14:20 Smear negative TB and HIV: urgent research priorities to inform a rolling global policy (Haileyesus Getahun, WHO, Switzerland)
14:20-14:30 Extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB and HIV: urgent research priorities (Gerald Friedland, Yale University, USA)
14:30-14:50 Discussion
14:50-15:00 Wrap up and next steps

HIV and TB in the context of universal access: What is working and what is not?

Report of an international open consultative meeting held in conjunction with the XVI International AIDS Conference, Toronto, Canada, 12-13 August 2006

Summary: A meeting was co-organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the International AIDS Society, the Treatment Action Group and the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research on behalf of the Global TB/HIV Working Group of the Stop TB Partnership in conjunction with the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada, on 12–13 August 2006. The objective of the meeting was to accelerate an effective and joint response to the epidemic of HIV-related tuberculosis (TB) by facilitating the sharing of information and experiences, networking and strengthening the partnership between TB and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) communities in a forum environment. Lively and interactive discussion was promoted by a very successful marketplace, where participants presented and promoted their experiences, results, views, opinions and country-level findings in poster and display formats. The meeting was attended by almost 300 participants, mainly representing the HIV community, who were also attending the International AIDS Conference. A tribute was paid to Dr Lisa Onyemobi, WHO TB/HIV National Professional Officer in Nigeria, who died suddenly earlier in 2006. The meeting was followed by a TB/HIV satellite symposium on the afternoon of 13 August 2006, which was held as part of the International AIDS Conference. The International AIDS Society, Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, co-organized the satellite symposium with the Stop TB and HIV Departments of WHO.

Click here for the meeting report

TB/HIV activities at the IAS conference During the Open Consultation "HIV and TB in the context of universal access: what is working and what is not?" there will an opportunity for meeting participants to share their experiences, views, opinions and other country level findings in posters (graphic presentation). The rationale, organization and content of the poster presentations are different from the traditional poster session of scientific conferences as they are meant to create a conducive environment for sharing information on country level experience of collaborative TB/HIV activities and for networking. See Guide for Marketplace here. Collaborative TB/HIV activities can be found in the Interim Policy on Collaborative TB/HIV Activities here. TB/HIV Flyer Roadmap of TB/HIV activities at the IAS conference Agenda : Pre-conference meeting: 'HIV and TB in the context of Universal Access - what is working and what is not?', 12-13 August 2006 Agenda: Satllite session: HIV and Tuberculosis: Overcoming the fatal interaction, Sunday 13 August 14.45, Room 4 Agenda: Skills building workshop "Screen for TB - a simple questionnaire can save the lives of PLWHA" Essential Documents for TB/HIV Press event Press Pack TB/HIV Facts at a Glance TB/HIV Questions and Answers Key points on the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015 - (FAQ 2 pager) Key points on the Global Plan to Stop TB (Longer FAQ...)

Announcement

The World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, International AIDS Society, Treatment Action Group and Forum for Collaborative HIV Research are jointly organising a one and half day international pre-conference consultative meeting entitled HIV and TB in the context of universal access: what is working and what is not? on behalf of the Global TB/HIV Working Group of the Stop TB Partnership in conjunction with XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada.

The meeting will take place on 12-13 August 2006 at Holiday Inn on King Hotel. The meeting is free of charge and open to international and national programme managers, clinicians, researchers, policy makers and NGO representatives working on HIV/AIDS. The magnitude and challenges of diagnosing TB among PLWHA will be reviewed and successful experiences and best practices from countries implementing TB/HIV activities will be shared and new and innovative strategic approaches to reduce the impact of TB among PLWHA will be explored.

The World Health Organization will be able to cover only accommodation (not airfare to and from Toronto) costs for the duration of the meeting for limited number of participants from high HIV and TB burden resource constrained settings. National HIV and TB control programme managers, and civil society organisation representatives from these countries are encouraged to apply.

If you would like to attend this meeting or if you want to know more about it please contact francisc@who.int before 30 May 2006.

TB/HIV research priorities in resource-limited settings

• 14-15 February 2005
• WHO, Geneva

CREATE - Archbishop Desmond Tutu to launch the ZAMSTAR TB/HIV study

• 15 February 2005
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu will officially launch a study of community and household interventions to reduce the impact of HIV related TB at the opening of the Desmond Tutu TB centre in Cape Town. As part of the Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS/Tuberculosis Epidemic (CREATE) this community randomized trial will study the effects of TB/HIV activities at household and community level in Zambia and South Africa over 5 years. For further information visit (www.tbhiv-create.org)

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

• 26-30 January 2005
• The World Economic Forum officially launched the document "Doing it Together: managing TB and HIV at the workplace" at the India Economic Summit where it was well received by over 600 CEOs. It will be distributed at the upcoming annual meeting in Davos "Taking Responsibility for Tough Choices" from 26 to 30 January 2005. The document "Doing it Together: Managing TB and HIV at the workplace" in PDF format can be found on the Forum website: