Preferences of healthcare workers using tongue swabs for tuberculosis diagnosis during COVID-19.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) who come into contact with tuberculosis (TB) patients are at elevated risk of TB infection and disease. The collection and handling of sputum samples for TB diagnosis poses exposure risks to HCWs, particularly in settings where aerosol containment is limited. An alternative sample collection method, tongue swabbing, was designed to help mitigate this risk, and is under evaluation in multiple settings.

Safety and Immunogenicity of Newborn MVA85A Vaccination and Selective, Delayed Bacille Calmette-Guerin for Infants of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Mothers: A Phase 2 Randomized, Controlled Trial.

Background: Vaccination of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected infants with bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is contraindicated. HIV-exposed newborns need a new tuberculosis vaccination strategy that protects against tuberculosis early in life and avoids the potential risk of BCG disease until after HIV infection has been excluded.

Methods: This double-blind, randomized, controlled trial compared newborn MVA85A prime vaccination (1 × 108 PFU) vs Candin® control, followed by selective, deferred BCG vaccination at age 8 weeks for HIV-uninfected infants and 12 months follow-up for safety and immunogenicity.

Knowledge and acceptability of patient-specific infection control measures for pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Effective infection control measures are essential to reduce tuberculosis (TB) transmission in domestic, workplace, and health care settings. Acceptability of infection control measures is key to patient adherence.

Methods: We used a prospective questionnaire study to determine knowledge and acceptability of potential patient-specific TB infection control measures in a rural South African community.

Moxifloxacin population pharmacokinetics in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and the effect of intermittent high-dose rifapentine.

We described the population pharmacokinetics of moxifloxacin and the effect of high-dose intermittent rifapentine in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis who were randomized to a continuation-phase regimen of 400 mg moxifloxacin and 900 mg rifapentine twice weekly or 400 mg moxifloxacin and 1,200 mg rifapentine once weekly. A two-compartment model with transit absorption best described moxifloxacin pharmacokinetics. Although rifapentine increased the clearance of moxifloxacin by 8% during antituberculosis treatment compared to that after treatment completion without rifapentine, it did not result in a clinically significant change in moxifloxacin exposure.