Notes from the Director

Dear Colleague:

The Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE) has been involved in many exciting events. On September 26, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly held the first-ever High Level Meeting focused on ending TB globally. CDC leadership and global leaders met to discuss the need for increased efforts to test and treat persons with latent TB infection to prevent TB disease. CDC continues to be at the forefront of researching new diagnostics and treatment for TB, with our global efforts informed and strengthened by our domestic accomplishments.

Communications, Education and Behavioral Branch Updates

United Nations General Assembly first-ever High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis

On September 26, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly held the first-ever High Level Meeting (UN HLM) focused on ending TB globally. The UN General Assembly (UN GA), the main decision-making body

of the UN representing all 193 UN Member States, convenes UN HLM. Agreement to hold a dedicated UN HLM on a specialized topic is taken in exceptional circumstances through a UN resolution and vote.

Field Services Branch Updates

Texas Tuberculosis Binational Program – A Successful Public Health Intervention Strategy

In 2016, the incidence rate of TB in the United States (US) was 3.1 per 100,000 persons, 4.5 per 100,000 persons in Texas, and along the Texas/Mexico border, as high as 9.5 per 100,000 (Hidalgo county).¹

Laboratory Branch Updates

Laboratory Branch Achieves Accreditation

In early 2015, the Office of the Associate Director for Laboratory Science and Safety (OADLSS) at CDC, was one of five pilot laboratories tasked with seeking ISO17025 accreditation. This accreditation is the general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

Clinical Research Branch Updates

The Latest News from the TB Trials Consortium (TBTC)

TBTC Study 31 , Rifapentine-containing treatment shortening regimens for pulmonary tuberculosis: A randomized, open-label, controlled phase 3 clinical trial, continues to enroll. As of August 21, 2018, the study had a total of 2,300 participants, 92% of target enrollment.

Data Management, Statistics and Evaluation Branch Updates

TB Modeling Tool Shows Potential Impact of Improvements in TB Prevention

Through the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention’s cooperative agreement for epidemiologic and economic modeling, NEEMA, Harvard University’s Prevention Policy Modeling Lab in collaboration with the CDC Division of Tuberculosis Elimination developed a web tool, Tabby, for predicting TB trends in the United States.

New CDC Publications

Borisov AS, Bamrah Morris S, Njie GJ, Winston CA, Burton D, Goldberg S, Yelk Woodruff R, Allen L, LoBue P, Vernon A. Update of recommendations for use of once-weekly isoniazid-rifapentine regimen to treat latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:723–6