TB And Public Health: Conference Addresses Key Themes Of Global And Local Significance

Main Category: Tuberculosis
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Public Health
Article Date: 14 Oct 2006 - 9:00 PDT

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TB related topics ranging from global and public health perspectives to the latest molecular science and vaccine development were among those presented by physicians and scientists at a national conference on Thursday 12 October.

The one-day event at Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry in Whitechapel (UK) marks the move of the Health Protection Agency's National Mycobacterium Reference Unit (HPA MRU) to the School following a successful joint bid between Queen Mary and Barts and The London NHS Trust. The Unit plays an integral role in the UK 's fight against TB and its location allows for new collaborations with both academic staff in Queen Mary's Centres for Infectious Diseases and Primary Care, as well as community health staff throughout east London .

Themes addressed at the conference included:

-- Global drug resistance and the emergence of extreme drug resistance
-- Drug development
-- Vaccines
-- Screening - TB in the local community
-- Vitamin D - deficiency and susceptibility to TB

Figures show that Britain is one of the few European Union countries where the number of people contracting TB has risen in the past ten years. High-risk groups are found in inner city areas with London accounting for over 40 per cent of all cases in the UK . Other countries in Europe have very high rates of TB, drug resistance and HIV.

The HPA MRU is one of 25 laboratories forming a World Health Organisation Global Network on Drug Resistance. It contributes to the local, regional, national and international health TB effort by; identifying the TB bacterium and detecting the existence of drug resistance in samples and strains sent by the NHS; giving advice on clinical care, infection control and public health issues; developing and applying molecular DNA fingerprinting tools to determine how TB strains are being transmitted within the community and population; contributing to surveillance in general, and assisting in the development of health policies here and overseas.

The MRU's research staff form the Clinical TB and HIV Group within Queen Mary's Centre for Infectious Diseases, complementing and increasing existing research into TB. Their research includes; all aspects of tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases and respiratory infections; focusing on the diagnosis, and molecular epidemiology of TB; understanding drug resistance and disease tropisms; the immunological interplay between TB and HIV, and broader public health problems posed by these diseases both in the UK and overseas.

Professor Francis Drobniewski, Director of the HPA MRU and Head of the Clinical TB and HIV Group at Queen Mary's Institute of Cell and Molecular Science said: "The world has come to our doorstep and the twin epidemics of TB and HIV are as important a problem for Europe to address as for those charged with healthcare in the developing world."

Sir William Stewart Chairman of the Health Protection Agency said: "TB is a massive global health-care problem, 2 billion out of 6 billion people world-wide are estimated to be infected by TB, 8 million new cases are estimated to occur each year, and 2 million deaths.

"In the UK the number of cases has plummeted over the last 90 years as living standards have improved and with the introduction of BCG vaccine. However, whilst UK numbers overall remain low they have been increasing since the late 1980s with over 40 per cent of the UK cases currently being found in London.

"Success in eradicating disease increasingly demands an interactive approach involving epidemiologists, molecular biologists, clinicians and scientists working locally against a global backcloth. I am delighted that the Agency's Mycobacterium Reference Unit has relocated to this international centre of excellence at Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry. This much closer association between academia, medical schools, the NHS and indeed the private sector is a model which we are keen to progress and I congratulate all who made this possible".

Queen Mary, University of London

Queen Mary is one of the leading colleges in the federal University of London , with over 11,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and an academic and support staff of around 2,600.

Queen Mary is a research university, with over 80 per cent of research staff working in departments where research is of international or national excellence (RAE 2001). It has a strong international reputation, with around 20 per cent of students coming from over 100 countries.

The College has 21 academic departments and institutes organised into three sectors: Science and Engineering; Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws; and the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

It has an annual turnover of �200 million, research income worth �43 million, and it generates employment and output worth nearly �500 million to the UK economy each year.

Queen Mary's roots lie in four historic colleges: Queen Mary College , Westfield College , St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College . www.qmul.ac.uk

Health Protection Agency

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is an independent body that protects the health and well-being of the population. The Agency plays a critical role in protecting people from infectious diseases and in preventing harm when hazards involving chemicals, poisons or radiation occur. It also prepares for new and emerging threats, such as a bio-terrorist attack or virulent new strain of disease. www.hpa.org.uk

Barts and The London NHS Trust

Barts and The London NHS Trust is one of the UK 's leading teaching hospital trusts. The Trust comprises Barts Hospital in the City, The Royal London in Whitechapel and The London Chest in Bethnal Green. There are over 750,000 patient attendances at the Trust's hospitals each year. www.bartsandthelondon.org.uk

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