More than 50 global companies have linked up with scientists all over the world to boost research on neglected tropical diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and river blindness under a UN-sponsored scheme. The WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Re:Search is an initiative that matches up holders of intellectual property resources such as pharmaceutical data, with […]
TB session at PHE conference
TB Alert is co-organising a session at Public Health England’s (PHE’s) second annual conference, which is being held on 16-17 October in Coventry. We are working with the British Thoracic Society to develop the session, which will outline the role of public health and technological advances in tuberculosis control. PHE has made the control of tuberculosis […]
Late-stage testing for Gates-funded TB drug
Late-stage clinical testing is due to start on a new TB drug, funded in part by the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation. The new three-drug cocktail, PaMZ, can be used both on drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB. In mid-stage testing the drug was shown to markedly reduce treatment time for drug-resistant TB, from two years to six months. […]
Lords celebrate unsung TB heroes
Last week, TB Alert’s partner Redbridge Council for Voluntary Service was acknowledged for its excellent work around TB. The Council attended the ‘Celebrating Excellence in Health and Wellbeing’ event at the House of Lords, during which 28 community projects were celebrated for their excellence, out of 70 nominations made to the Department of Health. “We […]
Treating TB and AIDS together more effective
People who have multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis and AIDS are more likely to survive if they get treated for both diseases at the same time, according to a new study. The study, which was published in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, overturned an old fear that weak TB patients would be killed by the […]
TB is still a huge problem in the UK
Last Friday saw front page headlines about the first documented cases of tuberculosis being transmitted from cats to humans. TB Alert did 15 TV and radio interviews during the day, providing reassurance about the minimal public health risk this is likely to pose, and at the same time highlighting that with 9,000 cases of TB […]
Cats infect people with TB
Two people have developed tuberculosis (TB) after coming into contact with a domestic cat, in the first ever recorded cases of cat-to-human transmission, Public Health England (PHE) has said. The cat was infected with the Mycobacterium bovis (M.bovis) bacteria, which causes bovine TB in cattle and other animals. TB Alert’s Chief Executive Mike Mandelbaum, says […]
EU-wide strategy to tackle rising TB rates in cities
While national TB rates are falling in some European countries, the incidence of tuberculosis is on the rise in big cities in the EU, according to a study published in the journal Eurosurveillance. The findings looked at cities with populations greater than 500,000 and concluded that on average, the rate of tuberculosis in big cities […]
TB Alert launches new logo
We’re really pleased to launch our brand new logo. We hope you like it! We believe our new look is warmer and friendlier, and will resonate better with people affected by TB, along with the organisations that work with them. As a result, it will help us to engage our key audiences and raise our […]
World TB Day at St George’s Hospital
A big thanks to St George’s Hospital in southwest London for helping raise awareness within the local community on tuberculosis during World TB Day. Staff put up a stall at the hospital entrance and gave out leaflets and information about TB to the public. Ikenna Obianwa, TB Alert’s Community Development Officer said similar events will […]