The Union provides MDR-TB training in China
Next week, The Union will give an intensive MDR-TB training course for clinical specialists in China. The course is one of eight MDR-TB courses to be offered by The Union in 2009 and is part of our growing commitment to MDR-TB technical assistance and training. The course, to be held in Beijing from May 18-22, will include senior-level programme and clinical staff and emphasise practical knowledge and skills in the management of the MDR-TB.
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TREAT TB web portal launched
The new Union-managed initiative TREAT TB (Technology, Research, Education and Technical Assistance for TB) now has a web portal. You can go directly to TREAT TB Website or access the portal via the Tuberculosis Department web site to learn more about this 5-year, USAID-funded project. The goals of TREAT TB are to contribute to new knowledge through field evaluations of diagnostic tools, clinical trials of priority research questions, and targeted operational research benefitting global regional and country TB control efforts. The portal offers an opportunity to stay up-to-date on important information related to TREAT TB and its partners, as well as the latest TB news from around the world.
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The Union opens DR Congo country office
The Union is opening an office in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo to support its TB, TB-HIV and other activities. This in-country office will provide day-to-day knowledge of the issues faced by the DRC, and help The Union and its partners to document lessons learned in the field and adapt international strategies to the Congolese context.
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TB-HIV link is emphasised in Uganda event
“I am stopping TB and controlling HIV” was the theme chosen by Uganda to commemorate World TB Day on Tuesday 24 March 2009. The Union Uganda Office had a stall for distributing information at the event attended by many officials and health care workers as well as the public.
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World No Tobacco Day: Tobacco Health Warnings
The theme for World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2009 is “Tobacco Health Warnings”. Heather Selin and Sinéad Jones of The Union’s Tobacco Control Department have written an editorial describing the power of graphic images in tobacco prevention for the May issue of the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. You may download it free of charge:
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A new Tobacco Packaging and Labelling technical guide will be launched electronically on World No Tobacco Day. This guide is intended to assist governments in implementing effective packaging and labelling measures required and recommended by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It is latest in the series of Tobacco-free Futures Action Guides. You may download it for free from 31 May at A new Tobacco Packaging and Labelling technical guide will be launched electronically on World No Tobacco Day. This guide is intended to assist governments in implementing effective packaging and labelling measures required and recommended by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It is latest in the series of Tobacco-free Futures Action Guides. You may download it for free from 31 May at http://www.tobaccofreeunion.org/content/en/183/" target="_blank">on the Tobaccofreeunion website

Bloomberg Initiative grantees meet in Mumbai
Eighty-five participants from 36 countries, representing organisations supported in Rounds One through Three of the Bloomberg Initiative (BI) grants programme, gathered in Mumbai, India prior to the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health. They took part in a 2-1/2 day meeting organised under the BI grants programme which is jointly managed by The Union and the US-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (TFK). The meeting provided a first-ever opportunity for those working on BI-supported grants across the world to exchange information and experiences.

Egypt begins to go smoke-free
The Union Middle East Office (UME) has taken active part in advising the Ministry of Health of Egypt on its smoke- free cities initiative. Over several weeks, the UME has worked in close collaboration with colleagues from the World Health Organization to assist the Ministry on developing a plan based on best international practice for the first city to go smoke-free. At the same time, the UME has been assisting one of Egypt’s most prominent universities with its measures to go smoke-free.

Participants from Pakistan and Egypt attend HR management course
Participants from Egypt and Pakistan attended a Union course on Human Resources Management in Cairo, Egypt on 3-7 May. A diverse group of organisations nominated the participants, including the WHO country office in Pakistan, nongovernmental organisations, ministries of health and academia. The course is part of a series developed by The Union’s International Management Development Programme (IMDP) and the second one to be coordinated by The Union Middle East Office this year.

Sticker campaign builds smoke-free awareness in Mumbai
Nearly 50,000 colourful no-smoking stickers in English and Marathi were provided to Mumbai’s 24 wards during March as part of the Smoke-Free Mumbai campaign. The project developed by The Union’s South-East Asia Office in collaboration with the World Lung Foundation (WLF) aims to raise public awareness of India’s smoke free rules. Funding for this project was provided by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.
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40th Union World Conference on Lung Health
3-7 December 2009, Cancún, Mexico
‘‘Poverty and Lung Health’’

Registration for the World Conference will open in June 2009. To benefit from preferential rates, you must register before 28 August 2009. Exhibition and partnership opportunities will be offered to any institution willing to play an active role in the conference.Please contact cancun2009@theunion.org Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their abstracts before the end of June 2009. For more information about the conference, please visit the World Lung Health Website

The Union teams with Harvard Business Publishing
The International Management Development Programme has teamed up with Harvard Business Publishing to provide IMDP participants with the most up-to-date and comprehensive management learning tools available. Beginning in 2009, IMDP participants may access Harvard Business Publishing’s extensive management training resources at no cost.
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International Course on Clinical Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
20-24 July 2009
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
Application deadline: 31 May 2009
Language: Spanish
Max. no. of participants: 30
For more information on the programme, please click here.
For any query, please send a message to tb-lunghealth-courses@theunion.org

International Tuberculosis Course
31 August-18 September 2009
Cotonou, Benin
Application deadline: 31 May 2009
Language: French
Max. no. of participants: 25
For more information on the programme, please click here.
For any query, please send a message to tb-lunghealth-courses@theunion.org

International Tuberculosis Course
31 August-18 September 2009
Hanoi, Vietnam
Application deadline:15 June 2009
Language: English
Max. no. of participants: 25
For more information on the programme, please click here.
For any query, please send a message to tb-lunghealth-courses@theunion.org

International Course on Clinical Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
21 -25 September 2009
Manila, the Philippines
Application deadline: 30 June 2009
Language: English
Max. no. of participants: 30
For more information on the programme, please click here.
For any query, please send a message to tb-lunghealth-courses@theunion.org

2009 ATS Annual Congress
The annual conference of the American Thoracic Society, ATS 2009, will be held from 15-20 May in San Diego, California. The ATS Congress is one of the largest gatherings of pulmonary and critical care clinicians and researchers in the world. Last year more than 15,000 people from 90 countries attended. The conference programme will cover developments in clinical practice, research, health advocacy, and education. Meet The Union at the ATS Congress in the exhibit area on booth 3020 from 17-19 May 2009. More information on the meeting.

Record 1.
TI: The role of molecular epidemiology in low-income, high-burden countries [Editorial]
AU: van der Spuy, G.D.; Warren, R.M.; van Helden, P.D.
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Record 2.
TI: Lessons from tuberculosis control for public health [State of the art series. Tuberculosis. Edited by I. D. Rusen. Number 6 in the series]
AU: Frieden, T.R.
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Record 3.
TI: Learning about smoking during medical school: are we still missing opportunities? [Review article]
AU: Chatkin, J.; Chatkin, G.
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Record 4.
TI: Max Bernard Lurie and native resistance to tuberculosis [Founders of our knowledge]
AU: Daniel, T.M.
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Record 5.
TI: Evidence of protective effect of BCG vaccination in persons at low risk of tuberculosis in Nordic countries
AU: Brantsaeter, A.B.; Romanus, V.; Andersen, P.H.; Heldal, E.
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Record 6.
TI: Analysis of discordance between the tuberculin skin test and the interferon-gamma release assay
AU: Machado, A.J.r.; Emodi, K.; Takenami, I.; Finkmoore, B.C.; Barbosa, T.; Carvalho, J.; Cavalcanti, L.; Santos, G.; Tavares, M.; Mota, M.; Barreto, F.; Reis, M.G.; Arruda, S.; Riley, L.W.
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Record 7.
TI: Inadequate ventilation for nosocomial tuberculosis prevention in public hospitals in Central Thailand
AU: Jiamjarasrangsi, W.; Bualert, S.; Chongthaleong, A.; Chaindamporn, A.; Udomsantisuk, N.; Euasamarnjit, W.
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Record 8.
TI: Comparison of four culture systems for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Zambian National Reference Laboratory
AU: Muyoyeta, M.; Schaap, J.A.; De Haas, P.; Mwanza, W.; Muvwimi, M.W.; Godfrey-Faussett, P.; Ayles, H.
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Record 9.
TI: Buoyant density of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: implications for sputum processing
AU: den Hertog, A.L.; Klatser, P.R.; Anthony, R.M.
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Record 10.
TI: Combining polymerase chain reaction restriction enzyme analysis with phenotypic characters for mycobacteria identification in Taiwan
AU: Shen, G-H.; Hung, C-H.; Hu, S-T.; Wu, B-D.; Lin, C-F.; Chen, C-H.; Wu, K-M.; Chen, J-H.
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Record 11.
TI: Polymorphisms in CCL5 promoter are associated with pulmonary tuberculosis in northern Spain
AU: Sanchez-Castanon, M.; Baquero, I.C.; Sanchez-Velasco, P.; Farinas, M-C.; Ausin, F.; Leyva-Cobian, F.; Ocejo-Vinyals, J.G.
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Record 12.
TI: Characterising transmission of a tuberculosis genotype in Scotland: a qualitative approach to social network enquiry
AU: Jackson, A.D.; Seagar, A-L.; Reid, M.E.; Doig, C.; Forbes, K.J.; Laurenson, I.F.; McMenamin, J.
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Record 13.
TI: Drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from tuberculosis patients in Kerala, India
AU: Joseph, B.V.; Soman, S.; Radhakrishnan, I.; Madhavilatha, G.K.; Paul, L.K.; Mundayoor, S.; Kumar, R.A.
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Record 14.
TI: Nationwide drug resistance survey of tuberculosis in the Philippines
AU: Philippine Nationwide Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Survey Team,
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Record 15.
TI: Active case finding of undetected tuberculosis among chronic coughers in a slum setting in Kampala, Uganda
AU: Sekandi, J.N.; Neuhauser, D.; Smyth, K.; Whalen, C.C.
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Record 16.
TI: Analysis of care-seeking pathways of tuberculosis patients in Guangxi, China, with and without decentralised tuberculosis services
AU: Wei, X-L.; Liang, X-Y.; Walley, J.D.; Liu, F-Y.; Dong, B-Q.
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Record 17.
TI: Risk factors for new pulmonary tuberculosis patients failing treatment under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, India
AU: Singla, R.; Srinath, D.; Gupta, S.; Visalakshi, P.; Khalid, U.K.; Singla, N.; Gupta, U.A.; Bharty, S.K.; Behera, D.
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Record 18.
TI: Long-term morbidity from severe pneumonia in early childhood in The Gambia, West Africa: a follow-up study
AU: Puchalski Ritchie, L.M.; Howie, S.R.C.; Arenovich, T.; Cheung, Y.B.; Weber, M.; Moore, S.; Adegbola, R.A.
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Record 19.
TI: Feasibility test results of the Practical Approach to Lung Health in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
AU: Brimkulov, N.; Ottmani, S-E.; Pio, A.; Chubakov, T.; Sultanova, A.; Davletalieva, N.; Kalieva, A.; Rittman, J.; Erhola, M.; Cholurova, R.; Blanc, L.
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Record 20.
TI: Development process of the Practical Approach to Lung Health in Kyrgyzstan
AU: Erhola, M.L.; Brimkulov, N.; Chubakov, T.; Niemi, L.; Bergman, V.; Lahdensuo, A.; Pio, A.; Ottmani, S-E.
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