Outcomes of a community-led online-based HIV self-testing demonstration among cisgender men who have sex with men and transgender women in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: The Philippines, which has the fastest rising HIV epidemic globally, has limited options for HIV testing and its uptake remains low among cisgender men who have sex with men (cis-MSM) and transgender women (TGW), especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As HIV self-testing (HIVST) and technology-based approaches could synergize to expand uptake of HIV testing, we aimed to evaluate the outcomes of a community-led online-based HIVST demonstration and to explore factors associated with HIVST-related behaviours and outcomes.

Methods: We did a secondary data analysis among cis-MSM and TGW who participated in the HIVST demonstration, who were recruited online and tested out-of-facility, in Western Visayas, Philippines, from March to November 2020.

First national tuberculosis patient cost survey in Lao People's Democratic Republic: Assessment of the financial burden faced by TB-affected households and the comparisons by drug-resistance and HIV status.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) patients incur large costs for care seeking, diagnosis, and treatment. To understand the magnitude of this financial burden and its main cost drivers, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) National TB Programme carried out the first national TB patient cost survey in 2018-2019.

Method: A facility-based cross-sectional survey was conducted based on a nationally representative sample of TB patients from public health facilities across 12 provinces.

Population-based survey of antimycobacterial drug use among patients with non-tuberculosis mycobacterial pulmonary disease.

http://bit.ly/3aBoUzE.

Actual practice of standard treatment for pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteriosis in Japan.

Introduction: The details of the practice of treating nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTMPD) have not been studied in Japan.

Methods: We studied a random sample of 2% (184) of the 9,200 patients with incident NTM-PD in 2010 who received standard three-drug therapy for at least some of their treatment between 2010 and 2014.

Results: The median duration of the standard treatment period was 248 days (IQR 56-540 days).

Interrelational changes in the epidemiology and clinical features of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease and tuberculosis in a referral hospital in Japan.

Background And Objectives: The incidence of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) is increasing, while that of tuberculosis (TB) is decreasing in many industrialized countries, including Japan. However, the long-term evaluation of clinico-epidemiological features of NTM-PD in relation to TB are limited. We aimed to clarify the long-term changes in the epidemiology and clinical features of NTM-PD in relation to those of TB at a nationally-designated TB center in Japan.

Transmission of tuberculosis and predictors of large clusters within three years in an urban setting in Tokyo, Japan: a population-based molecular epidemiological study.

Objective: Molecular epidemiology is a promising tool for understanding tuberculosis transmission dynamics but has not been sufficiently utilised in Asian countries including Japan. The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of TB cases attributable to recent transmission and to identify risk factors of genotype clustering and the development of large clusters within 3 years in an urban setting in Japan.

Design And Setting: Long-term cross-sectional observational study combining the characteristics of patients with culture-positive TB notified in Shinjuku City, Tokyo (2002-2013), with genotype data of PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Genotype clustering rate and association between genotype clustering status and explanatory variables.

Evaluation of "international transfer-out" among foreign-born pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Japan - what are the implications for a cross-border patient referral system?

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) patients crossing borders pose a serious challenge to global TB control efforts. The objectives of our study were firstly, to evaluate the trend and size of foreign-born pulmonary TB patients, who had been notified and initiated treatment in Japan but have transferred out of the country while still on treatment; and secondly, to conduct a detailed analysis of these patients and identify possible risk factors for international transfer-out, and discuss policy implications for a cross-border patient referral system for foreign-born TB patients in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study whereby aggregated cohort data of pulmonary TB cases newly notified to the Japan TB Surveillance system between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015 were analyzed.

Clinico-microbiological analysis of 121 patients with pulmonary Mycobacteroides abscessus complex disease in Japan - An NTM-JRC study with RIT.

Rationale: No comprehensive analysis has previously been performed to evaluate the clinical aspects of and microbiological evidence associated with Mycobacteroides abscessus complex (MABC) infection in a region, such as Japan, with a low MABC incidence.

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the clinicopathological characteristics of MABC, which included clinical relatedness to erm(41) sequevar, phenotype (as colony morphology and minimum inhibitory concentration), and genotype.

Methods: A total of 121 MABC patients (68 with M.

Epidemiology of Adults and Children Treated for Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease in Japan.

Rationale: The epidemiology of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) remains unclear in the majority of countries, including Japan.

Objectives: To estimate the nationwide incidence and prevalence of NTM-PD in Japan and to describe case characteristics and geographical variation.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from all health insurance claims made for NTM-PD collected from the National Database in Japan between 2009 and 2014.

Treatment outcome of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Japan - the first cross-sectional study of Japan tuberculosis surveillance data.

Background: Multidrug resistant-tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major global health concern. Its treatment requires toxic medications, is longer and costlier than drug-susceptible TB, and often results in productivity losses and poor outcomes. In Japan, a TB middle-burden country, reports on treatment outcome of MDR-TB patients have only been institution-based.

Prediction of Local Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates of a Predominantly Beijing Lineage by Use of a Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Typing Method Incorporating a Consensus Set of Hypervariable Loci.

Strain genotyping based on the variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) is widely applied for identifying the transmission of A consensus set of four hypervariable loci (1982, 3232, 3820, and 4120) has been proposed to improve the discrimination of Beijing lineage strains. Herein, we evaluated the utility of these four hypervariable loci for tracing local tuberculosis transmission in 981 cases over a 14-month period in Japan (2010 to 2011). We used six different VNTR systems, with or without the four hypervariable loci.

[COMPARISON OF TUBERCULOSIS SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS IN JAPAN AND LOW-INCIDENCE COUNTRIES: REPORTING DATA ITEMS].

[Objective] To compare the tuberculosis (TB) surveillance systems of Japan and low TB-incidence western countries in terms of reported data items. [Method] We conducted a descriptive comparative study for TB surveillance systems in Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Data items reported by the surveillance systems were collected and summarized by the categories prepared by the authors.

[COMPARISON OF TUBERCULOSIS SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS IN JAPAN AND LOW-INCIDENCE COUNTRIES: INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN].

[Objective] To compare the tuberculosis (TB) surveillance systems of Japan and low TB-incidence western countries in terms of institutional design. [Method] We conducted a descriptive comparative study for TB surveillance systems in Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The following information was collected from self-administrated question- naires and relevant published data: 1) TB notification, 2) TB registration, 3) quality assurance and data protection mechanisms, 4) linkage with other surveillance, and 5) data disclosure.

[THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS IN TUBERCULOSIS CONTACT INVESTIGATION].

[Aim] To explore the possible role of social network analysis (SNA) in identifying infected contacts and visualizing data in a tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation. [Method] We analyzed TB contact investigation data from an outbreak in a Japanese language school in Tokyo, Japan, in 20XX. Information on places which the index case and his contacts commonly shared was collected in line with the data collected routinely in contact investigation.

A Laboratory-based Analysis of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Lung Disease in Japan from 2012 to 2013.

Rationale: Since 2010, mycobacterial examination results have been used widely to survey nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung disease.

Objectives: To reveal the clinical and epidemiological status of NTM lung disease in Japan.

Methods: All data on the isolation and identification of mycobacteria in 2012 and 2013 were obtained from three dominant commercial laboratories in Japan.

[A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON THE PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF LATENT TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION AMONG PRISON POPULATION].

Setting: We conducted a systematic review of literatures on the prevalence and incidence of latent tuberculosis infection in correctional settings, with the aim of offering one of the resources to guide establishment of policies on screening for and treating LTBI among prisoners in Japan.

Objective: Using the keywords "latent tuberculosis AND (prison OR jail OR correctional)" and "tuberculosis infection AND (prison OR jail OR correctional)", we conducted a systematic review of relevant literatures on PubMed and secondary searches from the reference list of primary sources. We limited our search to those original articles published since 1980, and in English.

Macrolide-Resistant Mycobacterium avium Complex Lung Disease: Analysis of 102 Consecutive Cases.

Rationale: The management of macrolide-resistant Mycobacterium avium complex (MR-MAC) pulmonary disease is difficult and is thought to be analogous to that of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the cause of MR-MAC, to see how its management affected outcome, and to compare its prognosis with that of MDR-TB.

Methods: The medical records of 102 consecutive cases with MR-MAC pulmonary disease at three tertiary hospitals for mycobacteriosis in metropolitan Tokyo and one in Aichi prefecture from 2005 to 2014 were reviewed.

Profile of tuberculosis among the foreign-born population in Japan, 2007-2014.

The proportion of foreign-born people among the newly notified tuberculosis (TB) patients has been increasing in recent years and potentially poses a new challenge to TB control in Japan. In this report, we analysed the data from the Japan TB surveillance system between 2007 and 2014 to gain an overview of the trends and characteristics of foreign-born TB patients in Japan. We found that the proportion of foreign-born TB patients was especially high among the younger age groups - 44.

Factors Associated with Correct and Consistent Insecticide Treated Curtain Use in Iquitos, Peru.

Dengue is an arthropod-borne virus of great public health importance, and control of its mosquito vectors is currently the only available method for prevention. Previous research has suggested that insecticide treated curtains (ITCs) can lower dengue vector infestations in houses. This observational study investigated individual and household-level socio-demographic factors associated with correct and consistent use of ITCs in Iquitos, Peru.

COBAS® TaqMan® MTB, smear positivity grade and MGIT culture; correlation analyses of three methods for bacillary quantification.

We investigated the correlation between the cycle threshold (Ct) value of the COBAS(®) TaqMan(®) MTB (TaqMan MTB), the mycobacterial smear positivity grade, and the time to detection (TTD) in the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) for quantification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). For 57 sputum samples, significant correlations were observed between the Ct value, the smear positivity grade, and the MGIT TTD (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient: r(s) = -0.940, P < 0.

Detection of Tuberculosis Infection Hotspots Using Activity Spaces Based Spatial Approach in an Urban Tokyo, from 2003 to 2011.

Background: Identifying ongoing tuberculosis infection sites is crucial for breaking chains of transmission in tuberculosis-prevalent urban areas. Previous studies have pointed out that detection of local accumulation of tuberculosis patients based on their residential addresses may be limited by a lack of matching between residences and tuberculosis infection sites. This study aimed to identify possible tuberculosis hotspots using TB genotype clustering statuses and a concept of "activity space", a place where patients spend most of their waking hours.