Institutional Tuberculosis Transmission. Controlled Trial of Upper Room Ultraviolet Air Disinfection: A Basis for New Dosing Guidelines.

Rationale: Transmission is driving the global tuberculosis epidemic, especially in congregate settings. Worldwide, natural ventilation is the most common means of air disinfection, but it is inherently unreliable and of limited use in cold climates. Upper room germicidal ultraviolet (UV) air disinfection with air mixing has been shown to be highly effective, but improved evidence-based dosing guidelines are needed.

Phase I, single-dose, dose-escalating study of inhaled dry powder capreomycin: a new approach to therapy of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) threatens global TB control. The lengthy treatment includes one of the injectable drugs kanamycin, amikacin, and capreomycin, usually for the first 6 months. These drugs have potentially serious toxicities, and when given as intramuscular injections, dosing can be painful.

Surgical face masks worn by patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: impact on infectivity of air on a hospital ward.

Rationale: Drug-resistant tuberculosis transmission in hospitals threatens staff and patient health. Surgical face masks used by patients with tuberculosis (TB) are believed to reduce transmission but have not been rigorously tested.

Objectives: We sought to quantify the efficacy of surgical face masks when worn by patients with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

Natural infection of guinea pigs exposed to patients with highly drug-resistant tuberculosis.

A natural TB infection model using guinea pigs may provide useful information for investigating differences in transmission efficiency and establishment of active disease by clinical TB strains in a highly susceptible host under controlled environmental conditions. We sought to examine the capacity of naturally transmitted multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis to establish infection and produce active disease in guinea pigs. Guinea pigs were continuously exposed for 4 months to the exhaust air of a 6-bed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis inpatient hospital ward in South Africa.

Tuberculosis and HIV: a global menace exacerbated via sex trafficking.

Objective: Global tuberculosis (TB) elimination requires recognition and management of TB/HIV co-infected individuals, including those in marginalized and/or understudied populations. We sought to examine the prevalence of TB among repatriated sex trafficked Nepalese girls and women in whom a high HIV prevalence was previously reported.

Methods: We reviewed case records for cases of TB among 287 sex trafficked girls and women repatriated to a single, rehabilitation non-governmental organization in Kathmandu, Nepal between 1997 and 2005.

What animal models teach humans about tuberculosis.

Animal models have become standard tools for the study of a wide array of human infectious diseases. Although there are no true animal reservoirs for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, many different animal species are susceptible to infection with this organism and have served as valuable tools for the study of tuberculosis (TB). The most commonly used experimental animal models of TB are the mouse, rabbit, and guinea pig.