World TB Day: UCL leads special TB themed issue of International Journal of Infectious Diseases

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the top causes of death globally from an infectious disease. World TB Day is celebrated every year on 24 March – the day in 1882 when Professor Robert Koch first announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB.

To commemorate World TB Day, the International Journal of Infectious Diseases (IJID) has published a TB-themed issue guest-edited by Professor Sir Ali Zumla and dons from Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa.  The IJID series of 18 articles were written by over 100 authors from all continents.  

The editorial comment, co-written by UCL Professors Ali Zumla, Marc Lipman, Ibrahim Abubakar; Drs Gosce aad Orcutt, and others, focuses on the WHO and STOP TB Partnership theme for World TB Day, ‘The Clock is Ticking’. The editorial conveys the sense of urgency that the world is running out of time to deliver commitments to end TB made by global leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. This theme is particularly important in light of the diversion of funder and political attention to the COVID-19 pandemic, setting back global TB control efforts by several years. They conclude by saying:

“World leaders need to urgently address and reverse the negative socio-economic and health services impacts of the COVID pandemic. As COVID vaccines and public health measures start to have an effect on slowing down the COVID outbreak, every effort must be made by to ensure that health services and prevention programs for TB are not compromised.

The commitment of western governments to the rapid development and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is commendable, but it is important to ensure that no one is ‘left behind’. It’s now time for them to invest with equal commitment to ending the TB epidemic. Reality showed us that it can be achieved if there is serious political will which is translated into measurable, tangible actions resulting in impactful deliverables”

Links

Read IJID Special Issue articles authored by UCL researchers

• World Tuberculosis Day 2021 Theme - 'THE CLOCK IS TICKING' - and the world is running out of time to deliver the United Nations General Assembly commitments to End TB due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Recovering from the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic and Accelerating to Achieving the United Nations General Assembly Tuberculosis Targets
• Global Tuberculosis Report 2020 – Reflections on the Global TB burden, treatment and prevention efforts
• Accelerating development of new shorter TB treatment regimens in anticipation of a resurgence of multi-drug resistant TB due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Minimizing the Impact of the Triple Burden of COVID-19, Tuberculosis and HIV on Health Services in sub-Saharan Africa
• Tackling TB in migrants arriving at Europe’s southern border
• Zoonotic Tuberculosis – The Changing Landscape
• Clinical and Imaging Features of Adults with Recurrent Pulmonary Tuberculosis - A Prospective Case-Controlled Study

UCL researcher profiles

• Profile: Professor Ali Zumla
• Profile: Professor Marc Lipman
• Profile: Prof Ibrahim Abubakar

Image

• 'Lung: pulmonary tuberculosis'. Credit: Wellcome Collection [CC0]