Monday, January 20, 2014 - 08:00 to 09:15
Online discussion

Various international parties have monitored Xpert MTB/RIF technology with interest since its WHO endorsement and global rollout in 2010. By the end of September 2013, close to 2,000 GeneXpert instruments and more than 4 million Xpert MTB/RIF cartridges were procured in the public sector in 95 countries eligible for concessional prices. Experiences on the use of this technology have rapidly accumulated and have been regularly shared via peer-reviewed publications, systematic reviews, country and technical partner reports in several meetings of implementers organized by the WHO, as well as in previous GHDonline expert panel discussions. Taking stock of this new knowledge and experiences, a WHO Policy Update was issued in October 2013. It provides updated recommendations on the use of Xpert MTB/RIF assay for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB, pediatric TB, extrapulmonary TB and rifampicin resistance. Please join us for a virtual Expert Panel discussion next week, from January 20 to 24, 2014 to discuss this new knowledge and the following topics: - Selection of individuals to test using Xpert MTB/RIF and importance of risk assessment - Interpretation of Xpert MTB/RIF results in different groups based on risk of DR-TB - The best way to integrate Xpert MTB/RIF testing and the conventional methods - How Xpert MTB/RIF and other rapid and sensitive TB tests may impact the dynamics of programmatic management of TB and DR-TB I'm delighted to welcome the following panelists for this discussion and, together, we will answer these questions and more during our week long Expert Panel: - Christopher Gilpin, PhD, MPH, of the WHO. - Armand Van Deun is a consultant with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and a senior researcher for the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp. - Professor Wendy Stevens is Head of the Department of Molecular Medicine and Haematology at the University of the Witwatersrand and Head of National Priority Programs at the National Health Laboratory Service, South Africa. - Martin Colla was Cepheid’s marketing lead-person on the Xpert MTB/RIF development project and saw the product through to launch. He is now the Programme Manager Cepheid’s HBDC team Asia. - Peter Saranchuk, MD, is a TB-HIV adviser for the Southern Africa Medical Unit (SAMU) of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). How to Participate: This virtual expert panel is free and open to all. 1. MDR-TB Treatment & Prevention community members: This Expert Panel is taking place in your community – this means that you will receive email notifications for this panel based on the email notification settings you’ve selected for these communities in your GHDonline profile. If you’d like to update your email notification settings for this Expert Panel, or any of your GHDonline communities, please log in to your GHDonline account (https://www.ghdonline.org/accounts/signin/) and select « Edit Email Settings » from the « My Profile » drop down. 2. Not a member? Click the « Join Expert Panel » button on the right to sign up for this Expert Panel. Please feel free to start sharing questions and thoughts now. We look forward to this discussion.