In honor of World tuberculosis Day 2008 (March 24), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIVMA Medicine Association (HIVMA) are urging U.S. policymakers to step up the fight against tuberculosis by committing substantial resources against the disease both at home and abroad.

A new blood test could enable doctors to rule out tuberculosis (TB) infection within days rather than weeks, according to a new study published this week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

University of Alberta researchers stress that all children adopted from outside North America should be screened for tuberculosis. The study shows that in the Canadian province of Alberta, from 2004-2006, 40 per cent of foreign-born children under five years of age who were found to have tuberculosis were international adoptees.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major killer, causing up to two million deaths worldwide every year. Treatment takes many months and many patients fail to complete the course of drugs prescribed. Now a study published in PLoS Medicine casts new light on the difficulties patients face in trying to stick to the treatment they are given.

The latest research from two Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies looking at the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) in the United States will be presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference on Sunday, May 20, in San Francisco. The studies focus on two groups with higher-than-average rates of TB: foreign-born persons and African Americans living in the southeastern United States.