Tuberculosis symposium hosted at Centenary

The Centenary Institute has hosted the TB-CRE 2021 Symposium, which has showcased the latest tuberculosis research from international members and collaborators, and provided a platform for TB discussion and planning.

Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Centre of Research Excellence in Tuberculosis Control on Both Sides of our Border (TB-CRE) is an interdisciplinary Centre of Research Excellence aiming to improve TB control in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region through world-class research. Worldwide, TB is one of the top 10 causes of death, responsible for approximately 1.4 million deaths annually.

Professor Warwick Britton (pictured), Head of the Tuberculosis Research Program at the Centenary Institute and Chief Investigator of the TB-CRE, said the two-day event was highly collaborative and informative.

“The symposium was a wonderful opportunity for our researchers from around Australia and overseas to come together to share research findings, to discuss activity in light of the pandemic and to discuss planning processes for the future.”

Professor Britton said that live video-streamed presentations from both Indonesian and Vietnam-based field researchers, were particularly instructive.

“These two countries have high levels of TB and it was good to hear first-hand about the implementation of their TB research to improve case finding for TB and the lessons learnt,” said Professor Britton.

Representatives from the McGill International TB Centre, a designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre, also presented to the symposium from Canada on current research findings.

“Global networking and partnering with leading TB organisations are essential elements to successfully stamping out this deadly disease that affects nearly a quarter of the world’s population. We look forward to seeing how we can collaborate together in future activities,” Professor Britton said.

Further areas discussed at the symposium included new strategies for efficient TB case finding; new models of care to reduce TB mortality; the issue of drug resistant TB; and the impact of COVID-19 on TB control.

Read more about about the Centenary’s TB Program here.