Many sessions to examine issues of poverty and lung health
The dynamic between poverty and lung health will be an underlying theme in many sessions of this year’s World Conference on 3-7 December in Cancún, Mexico. Highlights of the scientific programme include a postgraduate intensive course on public health ethics and workshops on attaining quality TB control for undocumented migrants and options for national tuberculosis control programmes in addressing poverty. Symposia will look at smoking cessation and poverty and case studies on tobacco use and poverty from the front line. A “don’t-miss” symposium will examine the colliding epidemics of tobacco smoking, tuberculosis, HIV and COPD. For more information about the scientific programme, please click here.

Early-bird registration for World conference ends on 28 August
The early-bird registration deadline for the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health on 3-7 December is nearing. To benefit from preferential rates, you must register before 28 August 2009. The scientific programme, the official list of hotels and forms for requesting letters of invitation are all now accessible online. For more information about registration, please click here.

Union awards deadline is 18 September
Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 Union Scientific Award and the Karel Styblo Public Health Prize. These annual awards will be presented at the 40th World Conference on Lung Health in Cancún, Mexico, on 4 December 2009. For details and application forms, please click here.

Exhibition opportunities
The 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health will offer an exhibition area that will give the tuberculosis, lung health and HIV communities the opportunity to showcase the latest health solutions and give insight into their activities. It’s also a great place for networking. Reserve your booth now! For more information on the exhibition, click here to send a message.

Operational research topic of interest at AIDS conference
Prof A.D. Harries, Director of the Department of Research, participated in presenting a workshop and symposium on operational research at the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference in Cape Town, South Africa from 19-22 July. The conference attracted over 6,500 delegates. Together with Rony Zachariah from Médecins sans Frontières, Prof Harries co-taught an operational research training workshop for 25 participants from around the world organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the IAS. The two also presented at a special operational research symposium “Learning by Doing” on the “Why, what and how of operational research” and the “Union/MSF model for sustainable operational research”. The symposium was co-hosted by The Union and IAS, and also included speakers from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and WHO.

Clinical trial site in South Africa reviewed
Dr Dominique Lagarde, head of the Clinical Trial Unit, visited the ANRS-sponsored pharmacokinetic clinical trial of the use of rifabutin in conjunction with antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Durban, South Africa from 17-22 July. This visit, partly conducted with Claire Rekacewicz representing ANRS, had a double aim: to see how the trial was organised in Durban, and to prepare for trial implementation in Vietnam. Dr Lagarde visited different trial locations (clinics, laboratories, pharmacies and statistics departments), where she observed how the trial has been organised, discussed points of attention with those working onsite and reviewed the quality of the work being done. To date, 16 patients have been enrolled to the trial in South Africa.

GLC team reviews Mexico’s MDR-TB programme
In August 2008 Mexico applied to the Green Light Committee (GLC) to request an expansion of its original MDR-TB patient cohort and was approved for a total 242 patients. Now, one year later, an international GLC review team visited the programme in order to perform a comprehensive situation analysis. They studied Mexico’s capacity to prevent MDR-TB, to diagnose MDR-TB in quality-assured laboratories, and to treat MDR-TB cases to cure. The team used a new assessment tool developed by PATH. This was the first time the tool had been used for a national assessment and in the America Region. Raimond Armengol from The Union Latin America Office in Mexico City represented The Union on the review team. Funding for the evaluation visit was provided by USAID. Read more... . .

The Union participates in IAS Conference
“Task shifting in Malawi around antiretroviral therapy” and “Improving access and retention in antiretroviral therapy programmes” were among the topics that Prof AD Harries of The Union addressed at last month’s International AIDS Society (IAS) conference in Cape Town, South Africa. To read more about the key messages of the conference,click here....

New course to be offered in Mass Media & Communications
Communication exchange has never been so easily accessible and so critical to the success of a national TB programme. In order to help build effective communication capacity among public health organisations, The Union will host a special, one-week course addressing the critical communications skills needed to promote an organisation’s work. Participants will learn to write press releases, conduct outreach campaigns, use publications and other promotional tools to build awareness, and organise special events. The course will be taught by experts working in the field of mass communications. Participants will take part in exercises, discussions, and real-life simulations that demonstrate how skilful use of the media and communications can propel a health programme to excellence.

Mass Media and Communications for TB Control will take place on 15–19 December in Singapore. To learn more or to register for this course, please visit “Courses” at www.theunion.org or www.union-imdp.org or email imdp@theunion.org.

Partnership for TB holds regional meeting in Chennai
With 30% of the world’s TB burden and 400,000 deaths per year, India faces a big challenge, according to Mr VK Subburaj, Principal Secretary for Health & Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu. Mr Subburaj spoke at the first regional consultative meeting of partners for the southern region to be organised by The Partnership . The Partnership for TB Care and Control was established to support the government’s efforts by involving a wide range of partners, including NGOs, the media, the corporate sector and other groups. The regional meeting on 9-10 July in Chennai, Tamil Nadu brought together partners from across the southern Indian states. A second regional meeting will be held in Kolkata for the eastern region this month. The Partnership’s Secretariat is housed at The Union South-East Asia Office in New Delhi. Read more... .

Bloomberg Initiative (BI) partners and grantees meet in Bangladesh
The Union coordinated a Bloomberg Initiative (BI) partners’ visit to Bangladesh from July 18 to 24. In addition to meetings with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the partners met with representatives of the organisations that have received grants for tobacco control projects through the BI grants programme. The grantees presented their activities, achievements, obstacles and challenges. The goal of the meetings was to review progress and develop recommendations to further improve tobacco control in Bangladesh. Partners from the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use who participated in the sessions were the Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the World Health Organization and The Union. Read more...

New staff and office in Moscow
The Union Russia Country Office has increased its staff and moved to a new office location. This office supports the work of the Department of Tobacco Control, offering technical assistance to Bloomberg Initiative grantees and building support for improved tobacco legislation. The new contact information follows:
The Union Russia Country Office
Regus Capital Plaza
4th Lesnoy pereulok,
4 4th floor, office 419, 420
Moscow 125407
Russia
Tel: +7 495 663 8079

New Union Services website launched
Last month The Union launched a new data management system, Union Services. This system is the new entry point for Membership services and Conference services such as conference registration. In the near future, abstract submission, as well as course enrolment and Journal subscriptions will also be possible on this web site.

Registrations for the 2009 World Conference are now handled through Union Services. To register for the World Conference, please click here .

To join The Union as a new member, please click here .

If you are already a member, you will need to create a new user account with Union Services. You can do this by using your e-mail address or membership number. Forgotten your membership number? Contact us at membership@theunion.org . You will then be able to create and update your Union user account, and renew your membership via secure online payment.

Join or renew today! As an active Union member, you will receive a 50-euro discount on your registration fees for The Union World Conference on Lung Health coming up on 3-7 December 2009 in Cancún, Mexico.

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

In less than a month, the 2nd Conference of The Union Asia Pacific Region will open in Beijing, China. Participants are requested to promptly finalise their travel arrangements and contact the Conference Secretariat for any query or assistance regarding their participation. To send a message, click here.

13th Conference of The Union North America Region
11-13 March 2010, Orlando, Florida
“Under One Sun: Looking Ahead, Working Together, Moving Forward “

The Organising Committee of The Union North America Region reminds you that the deadline for submitting abstracts for the 13th NAR conference is 2 October 2009, whereas the deadline for registering will be 4 March 2010. To read more about the conference, click here.

SAVE THE DATE: 41st Union World Conference on Lung Health
11-15 November 2010, Berlin, Germany
“Tuberculosis, HIV and lung health: from research and innovations to solutions“

The Union is happy to announce that its 41st World Conference will be hosted in the International Convention Centre in Berlin, Germany, on 11-15 November 2010.

Session proposals: You will shortly be solicited to submit proposals for sessions for the 2010 Conference. The theme selected is “Tuberculosis, HIV and lung health: from research and innovations to solutions“. Berlin is a very appropriate host city for this conference because 2010 will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Prof Robert Koch, who discovered the bacillus that causes TB. We will also be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of The Union – and the Year of the Lung.

International Tuberculosis Course
9-27 November 2009
Arusha, Tanzania
Application deadline: 25 August 2009
Language: English
Max. no. of participants: 25
For more information, please click here.
If you have questions, please write to tb-lunghealth-courses@theunion.org

August IJTLD highlights
In the August issue of the Journal, the editorial by Drs Matthys, Van der Stuyft and Van Deun highlights the problems associated with universal tuberculosis control targets, noting that targets should not be globalised, as is often required by funding agencies, but should be kept specific, measurable, agreed upon by all stake holders, realistic and time bound (SMART).

The Editorial can be downloaded free of charge from: art00001

Other highlights in this issue include an editorial by Granich et al. and an Unresolved Issues paper by Union consultants on the challenges of isoniazid preventive therapy for HIV patients and programmes. Both articles can be downloaded free of charge from: art00002, art00003

The two review articles in this issue, by Agarwal et al. and Sorensen et al., focus on lung diseases other than tuberculosis, the former on asthma and the latter on COPD.

Record 1.
TI: Universal tuberculosis control targets: not so smart [Editorial] AU: Matthys, F.; Van der Stuyft, P.; Van Deun, A.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 2.
TI: Erring on the side of action: time for HIV programmes to implement isoniazid preventive therapy [Editorial] AU: Granich, Reuben; Getahun, Haileyesus; Reid, Alasdair; Raviglione, Mario; De Cock, Kevin M
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 3.
TI: Isoniazid preventive therapy for people living with HIV: public health challenges and implementation issues [Unresolved issues]
AU: Ait-Khaled, N.; Alarcon, E.; Bissell, K.; Boillot, F.; Caminero, J.A.; Chiang, C-Y.; Clevenbergh, P.; Dlodlo, R.; Enarson, D.A.; Enarson, P.; Ferroussier, O.; Fujiwara, P.I.; Harries, A.D.; Heldal, E.; Hinderaker, S.G.; Kim, S.J.; Lienhardt, C.; Rieder, H.L.; Rusen, I.D.; Trebucq, A.; Van Deun, A.; Wilson, N.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 4.
TI: Aspergillus hypersensitivity and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in patients with bronchial asthma: systematic review and meta-analysis [Review article] AU: Agarwal, R.; Aggarwal, A.N.; Gupta, D.; Jindal, S.K.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 5.
TI: Cost and clinical consequence of antibiotic non-adherence in acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis [Review article] AU: Sorensen, S.V.; Baker, T.; Fleurence, R.; Dixon, J.; Roberts, C.; Haider, S.; Hughes, D.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 6.
TI: Health system barriers affecting the implementation of collaborative TB-HIV services in Uganda AU: Okot-Chono, R.; Mugisha, F.; Adatu, F.; Madraa, E.; Dlodlo, R.; Fujiwara, P.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 7.
TI: Targeted screening and treatment for latent tuberculosis infection using QuantiFERON-TB Gold is cost-effective in Mexico AU: Burgos, J.L.; Kahn, J.G.; Strathdee, S.A.; Valencia-Mendoza, A.; Bautista-Arredondo, S.; Laniado-Laborin, R.; Castaneda, R.; Deiss, R.; Garfein, R.S. .
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 8.
TI: Epidemiology of tuberculosis in the Americas: the Stop TB strategy and the Millennium Development Goals AU: Ramon-Pardo, P.; Del Granado, M.; Gerger, A.; Canela Soler, J.; Mir, M.; Armengol, R.; Lopez Olarte, R.A.; Rodriguez, R.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 9.
TI: Seven-year DOTS-Plus pilot experience in India: results, constraints and issues AU: Singla, R.; Sarin, R.; Khalid, U.K.; Mathuria, K.; Singla, N.; Jaiswal, A.; Puri, M.M.; Visalakshi, P.; Behera, D.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 10.
TI: Uses of tuberculosis mortality surveillance to identify programme errors and improve database reporting AU: Selig, L.; Guedes, R.; Kritski, A.; Spector, N.; Lapa e Silva, J.R.; Braga, J.U.; Trajman, A.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 11.
TI: Blinded evaluation of commercial urinary lipoarabinomannan for active tuberculosis: a pilot study AU: Daley, P.; Michael, J.S.; Hmar, P.; Latha, A.; Chordia, P.; Mathai, D.; John, K.R.; Pai, M.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 12.
TI: Rapid identification of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay AU: Chou, C-H.; Huang, Y-T.; Hsu, H-L.; Lai, C-C.; Liao, C-H.; Hsueh, P-R.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 13.
TI: The clinical course of respiratory tuberculosis in lung cancer patients AU: Cha, S-I.; Shin, K-M.; Lee, J-W.; Lee, S-Y.; Kim, C-H.; Park, J-Y.; Jung, T-H.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 14.
TI: Lung disease mortality in the United States: the National Longitudinal Mortality Study AU: Lewis, D.R.; Clegg, L.X.; Johnson, N.J.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 15.
TI: Asthma Insights and Reality in the Gulf and the Near East AU: Khadadah, M.; Mahboub, B.; Al-Busaidi, N.H.; Sliman, N.; Soriano, J.B.; Bahous, J.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 16.
TI: Adolescent smokers are at greater risk for current asthma and rhinitis AU: Gomez, M.; Vollmer, W.M.; Caceres, M.E.; Jossen, R.; Baena-Cagnani, C.E.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 17.
TI: Lapproche pratique de la sante respiratoire en Algerie AU: Zidouni, N.; Baough, L.; Laid, Y.; Chaulet, P.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 18.
TI: Mortality benefit of isoniazid preventive therapy in HIV-positive persons: a simulation study [Short communication] AU: Bachhuber, M.A.; Gross, R.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 19.
TI: The effect of combined tobramycin-clarithromycin on Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates [Technical note] AU: Stoffels, K.; Traore, H.; Vanderbist, F.; Fauville-Dufaux, M.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 20.
TI: Use of an immunochromatographic kit for the rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from broth cultures [Technical note] AU: Ismail, N.A.; Baba, K.; Pombo, D.; Hoosen, A.A.
Click on the URL to access the article

Record 21.
TI: Mycobacterium interjectum as a cause of lung disease mimicking tuberculosis [Correspondence] AU: Martinez Lacasa, Javier; Cuchi, Eva; Font, Roser
Click on the URL to access the article