2019

HomeWashington Letter2019 ▶ Update from the UNION World Conference on Lung Health
Update from the UNION World Conference on Lung Health

On Oct. 31, 2019, The UNION’s morning Plenary Session, Ending the Emergency, chaired by Alberto Garcia-Basteiro, MD, PhD, featured a panel examining two important but often overlooked aspects of tuberculosis: TB infection prior to development of active disease, and secondly, the health and quality of life of TB survivors after treatment completion. The session examined the incidence of “post-TB” lung diseases such as COPD and mental illnesses including anxiety disorder and depression. Speaker Stellah Mpagama, MD, PhD, pointed out that there has been little research on both management of post-TB lung diseases and the mental illness among TB survivors. The session closed with Manasi Khade, who gave a moving account of her struggle with extensively-drug resistant (XDR) TB. When asked about the one thing that could be done to improve life for TB survivors, Ms. Khade was clear –shorter treatment regimens with fewer side effects.

Last Reviewed: November 2019