Tuberculosis

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) – i.e. when the disease presents outside of the lungs – has existed since antiquity, as evidenced by studies in paleopathology.1 The skeleton is a common site for extrapulmonary TB, but isolated rib TB is rare.2 One in 50 patients with musculoskeletal TB will have rib involvement.2–4 Extrapulmonary TB is more common in areas […]

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) refers to the case when a clinical TB isolate is resistant to two of the most potent tuberculosis medications: isoniazid and rifampin. Globally, there are about half a million new cases of MDR-TB per year. Prof. Timothy Rodwell (UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, US) talked to us about the advantages, efficacy and cost-effectiveness […]

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) refers to the case when a clinical TB isolate is resistant to two of the most potent tuberculosis medications: isoniazid and rifampin. Globally, there are about half a million new cases of MDR-TB per year. Prof. Timothy Rodwell (UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, US) discusses the limitations of MDR-TB diagnosis and assessment as […]

The World Health Organization recommends swapping non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) regimens for a dolutegravir-based combination because of widening resistance to NNRTIs.1 To help guide this transition, this comparison of switch strategies in people with a viral load below or above 1000 copies was conducted in the VISEND study. Dr Nyuma Mbewe (University of Zambia, […]

Rising resistance of HIV to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) threatens the success of the global scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The switch to dolutegravir (DTG)-based regimens could reduce this threat due to DTG’s high genetic barrier to resistance. Dr Nyuma Mbewe (University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia) joins touchINFECTIOUSDISEASES to discuss these challenges associated with […]

We met with Kelly Dooley (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA) to discuss the new drugs and developing treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis. The session entitled: ‘New drugs and new regimens for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis’ was presented at the 31st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). Questions: What are […]

It was a pleasure to meet with Kelly Dooley (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA) to discuss the emerging therapies for drug-resistant tuberculosis. The session entitled: ‘New drugs and new regimens for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis’ was presented at the 31st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). Question: What are […]

It was a pleasure to meet with Kelly Dooley (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA) to discuss the major challenges to developing new treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis. The session entitled: ‘New drugs and new regimens for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis’ was presented at the 31st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious […]