The ERS/WHO Consilium providing advice on the treatment of drug-resistant TB

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), defined as active TB cases infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that are resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin (the two most important anti-TB drugs currently in use), and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), defined as active TB cases caused by infection with strains that are resistant to at least one fluoroquinolone and one injectable second-line anti-TB drug in addition to resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin, attract interest at different levels. In recent years the alarming rates of MDR- or XDR-TB in Eastern Europe and some other parts of the world, have resulted in strong expressions of concern from national and international partners, health authorities, and professional societies. 

A new online system, which will provide advice on the clinical management of complicated TB cases, is due to be launched by the European Respiratory Society (ERS) -WHO Electronic Consilium.

The consilium, which was launched during the ERS Congress in 2012, was established to provide the opportunity for clinicians and other professionals with TB expertise to support physicians in Europe in the management of TB.

The consilium will provide advice on the treatment of drug-resistant TB and other difficult-to-treat TB cases, including co-infection with HIV and paediatric cases.

A secondary aim of the online system will be to monitor and evaluate clinical practice and look at common pitfalls and trends in treatment of the condition. It is hoped that this will allow for comparison of how cases are treated to help improve TB control.

More info:
http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/41/3/491.full

World No Tobacco Day 2012

Dear friends I am happy to present you our new member from Brazil Doctor Marilia Varella. Today we are publishing post by Marilia:

This is an yearly celebration meant to inform the public worldwide on the dangers of using tobacco. It is an awareness day!
But why is Tobacco? Because, according to World Health Organization, and we pulmonologists all agree with these data, smoking cause more than five million deaths a year – killing an average of one person every six seconds – and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths. Smoking is the single largest avoidable cause of illness and premature death worldwide .
So we must do something. How about to join this cause, to share information about the tobacco-free initiatives in your country and World No Tobacco Day? We all believe in our role in quitting process. Now we need to invite more health professionals to do the same - a brief advice will often lead to action!

I`d like to draw your attention to the fact that, right now in Brazil, the great issue is the prohibition of added sugars and flavorants to cigarettes. This discussion was postponed (due to a strong cigarette business lobby) and was finally discussed on March 13, 2012: flavorants are banned but not (yet) sugar ...

 

Finally, I want to share some good links I found … browse them and have some good ideas! 


http://www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2012/announcement/en/index.html

http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/details/issue/699927/World-No-Tobacco-Day.html

http://www.cigarettesflavours.com/tobacco-marketing-strategies/

http://pulmaosarss.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/etica-deve-ser-global-e-nao-local/

Tell your friends and networks about

World No Tobacco Day 2012! 

Let`s work together to ban smoking!

also we can join us on facebook:

Earth is no smoking space

This year, the tobacco epidemic will kill nearly six million people. More than five million of them will be users and ex-users of smoked and smokeless tobacco and more than 600 000 will be nonsmokers who were exposed to tobacco smoke. By 2030, tobacco could kill eight million people a year. Tobacco use is one of the biggest contributors to the noncommunicable diseases epidemic, which includes heart disease, stroke, cancers and emphysema and accounts for 63% of deaths.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offered his vision for the future of global tobacco control efforts.

GLOBAL TOBACCO CONTROL CAN AND SHOULD BE THE LEAD ENGINE IN THE RESOLUTION OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CRISIS!

Tobacco Control as a Primary Unmet Need

Earlier we wrote about non-communicable diseases (NCD) - respiratory diseases occupy a very important segment in the structure of chronic pathologies. 63% of all deaths are caused by NCDs, for which tobacco use is the greatest risk factor, after high blood pressure. 
The link between tobacco and some respiratory diseases is well known and was demonstrated in multiple scientific studies. Cigarettes kill half of all lifetime users. Half die in middle age – between 35 and 69 years old. No other consumer product is as dangerous, or kills as many people. Tobacco kills more than AIDS, legal drugs, illegal drugs, road accidents, murder, and suicide combined. It is ironic that we do not observe decreasing of smoking all over the world.

Recent control of the use of tobacco has been highlighted as the most urgent and immediate priority to help overcome the non-communicable disease crisis. This simple and efficient intervention was chosen for their health effects, cost-effectiveness, low costs of implementation, and political and financial feasibility.

The World Health Organization (WHO) selects "The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control" as the theme of the World No Tobacco Day, which will take place on Tuesday, 31 May 2011. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the world's foremost tobacco control instrument.

GLOBAL TOBACCO CONTROL CAN AND SHOULD BE THE LEAD ENGINE IN THE RESOLUTION OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CRISIS!