Quarter 2 2021 Special World TB Day 2021 Edition

World TB Day 2021: Message from the CDC Director
In commemoration of World TB Day, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, marked the occasion by confirming CDC’s commitment as a partner and resource in the fight against TB. She also acknowledged the resilience of those working tirelessly to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on TB services. “We are in a time of unprecedented challenge and opportunity,” said Dr. Walensky in a Dear Colleague Letter to key U.S. and global health stakeholders. “We must regain the momentum lost because of COVID-19, accelerate progress and endeavor to use the pandemic as an opportunity for transformative change.”
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TB Deaths Tick Down While Preventive Treatment Skyrockets

A new evaluation by CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that despite modest progress, it is unlikely that the global community achieved WHO End TB targets for 2020. Data show that new cases of TB and TB-related deaths decreased worldwide between 2018 and 2019 – 2 percent and 7 percent respectively. That same year, the number of people living with HIV who started TB preventive treatment doubled. To achieve UN High-Level Meeting 2022 targets for curative and preventive treatment, innovations in TB diagnosis, treatment and prevention remain integral.
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Innovation and Ingenuity: How CDC is Transforming the Fight Against TB

Through sustained and collaborative efforts, CDC has made significant progress in the fight against TB. The public health platforms that CDC and partners have built improved country-level and global health care systems and have also demonstrated benefits beyond TB, including in the fight against COVID-19. CDC is working with host country governments to ensure continuity of TB services by focusing on digital and mobile-health solutions, strengthening infection, prevention and control activities, and collaborating to develop and adopt methods for dual screening and testing for TB and COVID-19.
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A TB Breakthrough, Less Invasive Pediatric Diagnostic Discovered

TB mortality rates are disproportionately high in children, whose status often goes undiagnosed. In a new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, CDC researchers, led by Dr. Rinn Song, share a breakthrough in global efforts to diagnose TB in children. Researchers determined that testing a combination of nasal and stool specimens using Xpert MTB/RIF technology provided results similar to current diagnostic procedures. This new and less invasive sample collection could improve diagnosis of TB in children and lead to quicker initiation on TB treatment.
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