What we're reading: Ways to track progress toward TB goals

Combatting MDR TB: Year three - Released four years ago, the federal National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis raised hopes that targets and strategies would raise awareness of the resources needed to stem the spread of the hardest to treat forms of TB. The plan which emphasized expanded diagnosis and treatment access, also raised concerns that without committed sustained funding, including for continued research and development of new diagnostics, medicines and vaccines, the plan's reach would be limited. This third year report on the notes progress lends validation to both hopes and concerns, showing that while modest goals set by the plan have been met, more resources will be needed to achieve the plan's ultimate, necessary goal of ending the global public health threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis. WHO's global TB app - This interactive version of the World Health Organization's lets users compare country data, indicators and needs side-by-side. Long-term survival and cause specific mortality in patients newly diagnosed with tuberculosis in Sao Paulo, Brazil - Finding higher rates of death from infection, including among tuberculosis patients who had completed treatment, the researchers authoring this study note that tracking and responding to the impacts of the disease, particularly among marginalized populations, will be essential to controlling the disease.