Board of Directors adopts new mission and vision
In recognition of the increasing scope of its activities, The Union has updated its mission and vision. The new mission, vision and values were adopted by the Board of Directors at its annual retreat on 24-26 April in Paris. The new mission statement is “The Union brings innovation, expertise, solutions and support to address health challenges in low- and middle-income populations”. The vision focuses on “Health solutions for the poor”. Read more....

Department of Research and other changes
At its April retreat, The Union Board of Directors approved the creation of a Department of Research. Prof Anthony D Harries, who joined the Union Institute in June 2008 as a senior advisor, has been named Director. The new department will incorporate the new Centre for Operational Research, the Clinical Trials Division and the Health Policy Research Unit. In addition, the name of the Department of Lung Health has been changed to Department of Lung Health and Non-Communicable Diseases to better reflect the new directions of its work. Visit the Department of Research’s web page....

Paris: Union/TREAT TB host global consultation on retreatment regimens
An estimated one million people worldwide may be in need of a retreatment regimen for tuberculosis, and current recommendations have been made on limited evidence. To develop a comprehensive research agenda for retreatment regimens that will build the evidence base in this area, 25 experts in clinical management and programme implementation attended a global consultation in Paris this month. The two-day meeting was sponsored by The Union-led TREAT TB project – a USAID-funded Cooperative Agreement for TB research. Read more on the TREAT TB website.

Paris: Arnadottir’s Tuberculosis and public health published by The Union
The historical background and scientific basis of the national tuberculosis programme as a model for TB control are explored in Tuberculosis and Public Health, a new book published in May 2009 by The Union. The author, Dr Thuridur Arnadottir, trained in medicine in Iceland, in tropical medicine in Denmark, and in public health in the USA. She studied TB control in The Union’s international course in Arusha (1991) and with the National Tuberculosis Programme in Nicaragua (1990–1992). She subsequently served as a Union consultant and on the faculty of its international tuberculosis courses in Nicaragua and Tanzania. Tuberculosis and Public Health is available both as a book and a CD-ROM. The book is 60 € / 80 US$ and the CD-ROM: 20 € / 30 US$. For details about ordering, please click here.

Benin: Socio-economic patient survey
A survey designed to capture patients’ perspectives on TB and HIV services integration found that patients develop a strong attachment to the site where they first access HIV care, that 91% were affected professionally by the physical incapacity brought on by the disease, and that 30% had had to borrow money to meet their expenses. For more about the survey and its results, read on....

Tanzania: Improving child survival through better inpatient care
Representatives from 10 sub-Saharan nations and Sudan recently attended a Union course on managing childhood lung disease. The two-week course aimed to address the deficiencies of in-patient paediatric care in resource-poor countries and guided participants in the development of Child Lung Health plans. Read more....

India: Partnership for TB Care and Control
The Partnership for TB Care and Control India held its first Steering Committee meeting on 15 May 2009 at The Union South East Asia Office in Delhi, where the Secretariat is housed. National Programme Manager Dr L S Chauhan and colleagues from the WHO India Office attended. Dr Chauhan conveyed the appreciation of the Ministry of Health for the efforts of civil society in supporting the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). Dr Pramesh Bhatnagar of the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) was unanimously elected to chair the Steering Committee for the next 12-month period.

India: Advocacy for tobacco control through scientific journals in India
The Union South East Asia Office (USEA) collaborated with leading journal Current Science to bring out a special issue focusing on tobacco control around World No Tobacco Day 2009. This special issue contained a guest editorial by leading Indian tobacco researcher Professor Prakash Gupta, a history of the ‘bidi’ and other articles. You can read the articles at no charge by clicking here.

USEA also coordinated a launch for the special issue in Bangalore. The panel discussion on India’s tobacco epidemic was attended by more than 35 leaders from corporations and corporate-led foundations, scientists, government and NGO representatives and the media. The event received widespread national and local news coverage. Read more....

China: Guangzhou marks World No Tobacco Day
In honor of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, the Guangzhou Association on Tobacco Control (GATC) organised a smoke-free campaign to advocate smoke-free public places. The event was held at Zhengjia square in Guangzhou city. Distinguished speakers included the Vice Mayor of Guangzhou, who delivered a speech emphasizing the Municipal Government’s great attention to tobacco control. Those attending were leaders of 20 government departments and social agencies and about 200 other participants.

The event included more speeches, presentations, an exhibit of student tobacco control art and other activities, as well as a special appearance by the GATC mascots, two sheep named “Healthy.” The event drew coverage from 13 media outlets, including TV, radio, newspapers and online media.

GATC is a Bloomberg Initiative grant holder. Their project is to achieve the support of stakeholders for the development, enactment, implementation and enforcement of effective tobacco-free regulations. Technical support for GATC is provided by The Union China Office and the World Lung Foundation.

Thailand: Budgeting and Project Management for TB Control
Comprehensive budgeting and sound financial management are cornerstones of an effective TB programme. Knowledge of how to develop, manage and update budgets is essential. To help health care managers meet these challenges, The Union will host a special, two-week course on Budget Planning and Project Management for TB Control on 1–13 September 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. The application deadline is 30 June 2009.
For a detailed description and application form, please click here.

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 write to tb-lunghealth-courses@theunion.org

International Tuberculosis Course
9–27 November 2009
Arusha, Tanzania
Application deadline: 15 August 2009
Language: English
Max. number of participants: 25
For more information on the programme, please click here.
For any query, please write to tb-lunghealth-courses@theunion.org

17th Conference of The Union Africa Region, 24-26 June 2009
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
"Lung health and the strengthening of health systems in Africa”

Ouagadougou is getting ready to host the 17th Union Conference of the Africa Region. Chairs and speakers from more than 20 nations will share their expertise with colleagues from across the continent. The stakes are high, and the numerous challenges will be presented in the plenary session, 11 symposia and two poster sessions. For more information, please click here. Registration is now only possible on-site.

2nd Conference of The Union Asia-Pacific Region, 9-12 September 2009
Beijing,China
“Prevention and Control of Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis”

Abstract submission that will result in free communication sessions is now closed. Authors will be notified by email regarding the status of their abstracts. Registration is now open. You can register through a secure online payment system. For more information about the scientific programme, please visit the website: http://www.bjtheunion-apr.com.

40th Union World Conference on Lung Health, 3-7 December 2009
Cancun, Mexico
“Poverty and lung health”

An outline of the conference sessions is available on the website www.worldlunghealth.org. There will be an adjunct Stop TB Symposium organised by the World Health Organization on Thursday, 3 December 2009. On Friday, 4 December, 11 postgraduate courses and 14 workshops will be offered.

The formal conference begins on Saturday, 5 December 2009. Delegates will be able to participate in the 56 symposia, 50 sessions based on abstracts (Featured Abstract presentations, Poster Discussions and Poster Displays) and 3 plenary sessions that will address issues of global importance.

Authors who have submitted their work for presentation at the conference will be notified about the status of their abstracts by the end of June.

Those authors who have missed the deadline can submit their abstracts for the late-breaker session, jointly organised by The Union and the CDC. The submission deadline is 24 July 2009. For more information, click on the conference website: www.worldlunghealth.org.

For online registration and hotel booking, please visit the conference website. The deadline for early bird registration is 28 August 2009.

Join The Union – or renew -- today!
“Becoming a Union Member is being instrumental to support efforts and continue launching new resources and programmes in the global fight against tuberculosis and lung disease” Scott Mc Donald, Executive Director of the British Columbia Lung Association.

Union members will receive a 50-euro discount on registration for the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health, so now is the time to join or renew your Union membership. The various types of membership are available for fees beginning as low as 20 Euros.

Visit our Membership website for details. If you are already a member, ensure that you receive the best service from The Union by using your existing membership number.

Forgot your membership number? Contact Thuy Duong or Florence Desparmet at membership@theunion.org.

June IJTLD highlights
In the June issue of the Journal, an editorial by Drs Miller and Weis accompanies two articles by Pantoja et al. on the economic evaluation of the effectiveness of public-private mix (PPM) for tuberculosis control in India. Miller and Weis note that PPM in this case shifted the cost of treatment from frequently very poor TB patients to the health services, and reduced delays in diagnosis and treatment in the private sector. The Editorial can be downloaded free of charge from here.

Other highlights in this issue include the eighth (and last) article in the State of the Art series on Tuberculosis, The Styblo model 20 years later: what holds true?, in which author Thuridur Arnadottir reviews the basic principles of the model tuberculosis programme, which is the foundation of the current DOTS strategy. The article can be downloaded free of charge from here.

The second review article, by Minion et al., reviews and discusses new knowledge gained through the IJTLD and elsewhere on diagnostics for tuberculosis in 2008. To access this article free of charge, please click here.

Record 1.
TI: Using economic analysis to improve tuberculosis control [Editorial]
AU: Miller, Thaddeus L.; Weis, Stephen E.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 2.
TI: The Styblo model 20 years later: what holds true? [State of the art series. Tuberculosis. Edited by I. D. Rusen. Number 8 in the series]
AU: Arnadottir, T.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 3.
TI: Diagnostics for tuberculosis: what new knowledge did we gain through The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease in 2008? [Year in review]
AU: Minion, J.; Zwerling, A.; Pai, M.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 4.
TI: Economic evaluation of public-private mix for tuberculosis care and control, India. Part I. Socio-economic profile and costs among tuberculosis patients
AU: Pantoja, A.; Floyd, K.; Unnikrishnan, K.P.; Jitendra, R.; Padma, M.R.; Lal, S.S.; Uplekar, M.; Chauhan, L.S.; Kumar, P.; Sahu, S.; Wares, F.; Lonnroth, K.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 5.
TI: Economic evaluation of public-private mix for tuberculosis care and control, India. Part II. Cost and cost-effectiveness
AU: Pantoja, A.; Lonnroth, K.; Lal, S.S.; Chauhan, L.S.; Uplekar, M.; Padma, M.R.; Unnikrishnan, K.P.; Rajesh, J.; Kumar, P.; Sahu, S.; Wares, F.; Floyd, K.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 6.
TI: The cost of intensified case finding and isoniazid preventive therapy for HIV-infected patients in Battambang, Cambodia
AU: Sutton, B.S.; Arias, M.S.; Chheng, P.; Eang, M.T.; Kimerling, M.E.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 7.
TI: Risk factors for failure to complete a course of latent tuberculosis infection treatment in Salvador, Brazil
AU: Machado Jr, A.; Finkmoore, B.; Emodi, K.; Takenami, I.; Barbosa, T.; Tavares, M.; Reis, M.G.; Arruda, S.; Riley, L.W.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 8.
TI: Use of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test to confirm latent tuberculosis infection in a Canadian tuberculosis clinic
AU: Kunimoto, D.; Der, E.; Beckon, A.; Thomas, L.; Egedahl, M.; Beatch, A.; Williams, G.; Tyrrell, G.; Ahmed, R.; Brown, N.; Long, R.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 9.
TI: Chemokine IP-10: an adjunct marker for latent tuberculosis infection in children
AU: Lighter, J.; Rigaud, M.; Huie, M.; Peng, C-H.; Pollack, H.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 10.
TI: African pouched rats for the detection of pulmonary tuberculosis in sputum samples
AU: Weetjens, B.J.; Mgode, G.F.; Machangu, R.S.; Kazwala, R.; Mfinanga, G.; Lwilla, F.; Cox, C.; Jubitana, M.; Kanyagha, H.; Mtandu, R.; Kahwa, A.; Mwessongo, J.; Makingi, G.; Mfaume, S.; Van Steenberge, J.; Beyene, N.W.; Billet, M.; Verhagen, R.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 11.
TI: Adenosine deaminase activity and its isoenzymes in the sputum of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis
AU: Dimakou, K.; Hillas, G.; Bakakos, P.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 12.
TI: rpoB nested PCR and sequencing for the early diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis and rifampicin resistance
AU: Huang, H-J.; Xiang, D-R.; Sheng, J-F.; Li, J.; Pan, X-P.; Yu, H-Y.; Sheng, G-P.; Li, L-J.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 13.
TI: Malnutrition and socio-demographic factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis in Timor and Rote Islands, Indonesia
AU: Pakasi, T.A.; Karyadi, E.; Dolmans, W.M.V.; van der Meer, J.W.M.; van der Velden, K.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 14.
TI: Comparison of a four-drug fixed-dose combination regimen with a single tablet regimen in smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis
AU: Bartacek, A.; Schutt, D.; Panosch, B.; Borek, M.; Rimstar 4-FDC Study Group
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 15.
TI: A multidisciplinary method to map potential tuberculosis transmission hot spots in high-burden communities
AU: Murray, E.J.; Marais, B.J.; Mans, G.; Beyers, N.; Ayles, H.; Godfrey-Faussett, P.; Wallman, S.; Bond, V.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 16.
TI: Ethnic differences in time trends in asthma prevalence in New Zealand: ISAAC Phases I and III
AU: Ellison-Loschmann, L.; Pattemore, P.K.; Asher, M.I.; Clayton, T.O.; Crane, J.; Ellwood, P.; Mackay, R.J.; Mitchell, E.A.; Moyes, C.; Pearce, N.; Stewart, A.W.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 17.
TI: Classifying the severity of COPD: are the new severity scales better than the old?
AU: Esteban, C.; Quintana, J.M.; Egurrola, M.; Moraza, J.; Aburto, M.; Perez-Izquierdo, J.; Basualdo, L.V.; Capelastegui, A.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 18.
TI: Performance of FASTPlaqueTB and a modified protocol in a high HIV prevalence community in South Africa [Short communication]
AU: Trollip, A.P.; Albert, H.; Mole, R.; Marshall, T.; van Cutsem, G.; Coetzee, D.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 19.
TI: Outcome of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis [Correspondence]
AU: Chen-Yuan, Chiang; Mitnick, Carole D.; Bayona, Jaime N.; Fraser, Hamish S. F.; Shin, Sonya S.; Becerra, Mercedes C.
URL: Click here to access the article

Record 20.
TI: Death of a health care worker with nosocomial extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in India [Correspondence]
AU: James, Prince; Christopher, D.J.; Balamugesh, T.; Gupta, Richa
URL: Click here to access the article