English

This December 2009 presentation aims to foster reflection on and a debate about the role of communication in addressing tuberculosis (TB). The authors propose a conceptual framework of communication and its relation to ethics, building from previous experience in order work against stigma and discrimination in health care contexts by developing the advocacy, communication, and social mobilisation (ACSM) model.

The case highlighted in this issue came from a state health department nurse who lived in the small town located on a large Great Plains Indian reservation where this case unfolded. It involved an extended family spanning 4 generations, all of whom lived in the same 3-bedroom house.

The challenges of TB-HIV co-Infection are highlighted in this issue. Psychosocial aspects of HIV diagnosis and self-awareness are also discussed.

This report highlights the issues surrounding high prices and poor supply of the drugs needed to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). The report provides an overview of available drug-resistant TB medicines, including drug sources, quality status, and price.

The Global Drug Facility (GDF) is a mechanism to expand access to, and availability of, high-quality anti-TB drugs and diagnostics to support the Stop TB Strategy.

This document outlines progress that GDF has made to date, what still needs to be done and where high-level advocacy could help GDF to further scale up its activities.

Community health centers (CHCs) are important facilities which implement routine HIV testing consistent with the 2006 recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This document provides an overview of general protocol elements for facility-based HIV testing and post-test counseling.

The guidelines show how people with HIV can be protected from tuberculosis with regular, low-cost preventive medication. The guidelines present a set of recommendations that will help reduce TB disease in people living with HIV, their families and communities through a combination of screening for TB and provision of IPT.

Drs. Jacques Grosset and Timothy Sterling will discuss the rationale for and potential new approaches to treatment of TB in HIV-infected individuals. Primary and secondary resistance of TB medications and the role of therapeutic drug monitoring for HIV-infected patients will be explored. The application of research to clinical practice will be highlighted.

The Checklist is designed to provide CHWs, supervisors, and program managers (from NTPs, NGOs, CBOs, and others) with very practical ways to properly implement TB IC and to minimize risk of transmission within community residential settings, including families and households.

This fact sheet provides basic information on the TB skin test.