TB screening: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Opportunities webinar

In order to meet targets to reduce TB incidence, scale up of active case finding will be required. Prevalence surveys repeatedly show that a significant proportion of people in the community with culture positive TB do not report TB symptoms. In 2021 the World Health Organization updated its recommendations for systematic screening for TB emphasising the importance of chest X-Ray to help identify these individuals. In addition, for the first time these guidelines approved the use of Computer Aided Detection to facilitate screening and triage.

We have recently conducted a global survey of 63 National TB Programmes representing over 80% of global TB burden with the aim of better understanding the current policies, practices, challenges and opportunities around TB screening. At this webinar we will present the findings of this survey with additional talks to contextualise the results. This webinar will be of interest to the staff of National TB Programmes (NTP), regional and international policymakers and researchers and academics working in the area.

Programme

(Times all in GMT(UK))

Co-chairs - Hanif Esmail (UCL) and Morten Ruhwald (FIND)

10:00 - Introduction and overview of WHO systematic screening guidelines.
Cecily Miller – World Health Organization – Global TB Programme

1015 - Results of Global NTP Survey on Policies, Practices and Challenges for TB Screening.
Liana Macpherson – University College London

1040 - Implementing TB Screening – Pakistan Experience.
Razia Fatima – Pakistan National TB Programme

1100 - Insights from Prevalence Surveys.
Rein Houben – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

1120 - Digital Chest X-Ray and Computer Aided Detection for TB.
Sandra Kik - FIND

1140 - TB screening: Operational Research Questions and Opportunities.
Hanif Esmail – University College London