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UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Shannon Hader, and Katherine Maher, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, and Her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired of Jordan will speak at the conference.

In the context of the global pandemic, there is an urgent need for research that elucidates the relationship between COVID-19 and TB, the adoption of strategies that protect TB patients from infection by SARS-CoV-2, and the adoption and/or…

Her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, Katherine Maher, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Shannon Hader and Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID will all speak at the 51st Union World Conference on…

• Protocol for The impact of COVID-19 on TB and HIV services: A public health surveillance project in three African countries

  The Union’s Centre for Operational Research has made publicly available a protocol for a project in sub-Saharan Africa to…

• In this video, you will learn how to disinfect your hands properly.

  Gloves are worn to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases between patients and healthcare providers by preventing contact with blood and other body fluids. Read the fact sheet for…

• In this video, you will learn how to put on and to remove properly a surgical mask.

  You can also read the fact sheet.

• In this video, you will learn how to properly put on and take off an N95 respirator.

  You can also read the fact sheet.

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is particular clothing or equipment designed to protect people and keep them safe during exposures to infectious agents or harmful materials such as chemicals used for cleaning and disinfecting. Read the fact sheet for wearing and removing…

• Between May 2020 and August 2021, The Union’s Tobacco Control Department produced a "living," regularly revised master brief and ten shorter scientific briefs on COVID-19 and smoking. The master brief answers key questions about COVID-19 and smoking; it also delineates three…

• COVID-19 and Smoking: Frequently Asked Questions

  Download COVID-19 and Smoking: FAQs version 3 in English, français (French), español (Spanish), русский (Russian), polski (Polish), 日本語 (Japanese) and 中文…

• The novel coronavirus-19 (nCoV-19) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new coronavirus that was only recently discovered in 2019. The virus causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

  Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by …

• Membership to The Union means you are part of a movement of professionals who work together to drive positive action for lung health. We help give your work a voice in the halls of government and in the news media as we drive a global advocacy agenda. We work tirelessly to…

• COVID-19 and TB are both respiratory infections that can be transmitted by a person with the disease who may release pathogens into the air when breathing out. These pathogens can then be inhaled into the respiratory tract of another person.

  TB pathogen causes…

• When we look at the infectivity of an agent, we usually refer to the reproductive number (R0 value) which can describe the transmission of an infectious disease. The R0 value gives a number of how many people a person with the disease can pass the infection on to.…

• Both COVID-19 and TB cause respiratory symptoms – cough and shortness of breath. Both cause fever and weakness. One of the biggest differences is the speed of onset. TB symptoms do not tend to occur immediately after infection and when they develop, are of a gradual onset,…

• The data regarding COVID-19 are changing daily (check the WHO Situational Dashboard for the latest figures), including the number of deaths due to COVID-19 which are increasing daily. About 1.5 million people died from TB in 2018 and, of this total, over…

• Currently there is no recommended drug treatment for COVID-19, and treatment for COVID-19 is managed by addressing a person’s symptoms. There is a large therapeutics trial, the SOLIDARITY trial, which may give more details on drug treatments for COVID-19, and many…

• As discussed above, the symptoms of COVID-19 can be similar to those of TB, with fever, cough, and shortness of breath among the symptoms, but there is usually a difference in the speed that the symptoms start. COVID-19 symptoms are likely to be of a more rapid onset.

  …

• The gold standard for both TB and COVID-19 is a microbiological confirmation, i.e. confirming the presence of either the TB bacteria or the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

  Tests for TB usually include testing sputum for TB bacteria. The preferred tests are rapid molecular tests,…

• As COVID-19 is so new, there is little data available on if those with TB or those who have a previous history of TB are more at risk of worse COVID-19 outcomes, but some early evidence from China does show worse outcomes and more severe COVID-19 disease for those with TB.…

• People who have been in contact with someone with TB and who are well and do not show any signs or symptoms, may have TB infection, sometimes also referred to as latent TB. People with TB infection do not spread TB bacteria. Almost 2 billion people have TB infection…

• Evidence to date suggests that children and adolescents (0-19 years) are less susceptible than adults to severe COVID-19 disease.

  If your child is on TB treatment, as with adults, it is important that he/she continues and completes treatment. To minimise the child’s…

• Wearing a mask presents a barrier for the spread of both TB and COVID-19 pathogens as masks stop them being distributed into the air or infecting surfaces with respiratory droplets if being worn by someone who has symptoms. Masks can also reduce the chances of the wearer…

• There are guidelines regarding the management of TB in emergencies that can help countries plan to ensure that TB services remain operational. It is very important that national TB services continue, and that people have access to diagnostic services, treatments and…

• WHO has released guidance for TB programmes on how to continue their programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  The Infectious Diseases Society of Southern Africa also released some pragmatic and immediately implementable approaches for TB services,…

• There are concerns regarding global supply of medications.  Currently, none of the first-line TB drugs are being used for the management of COVID-19, and as such there is not expected to be a re-directing of the medications themselves to people with COVID-19. High burden…

• Social distancing is a type of measure used by public health officials to slow down or stop the spread of a disease, especially to allow healthcare systems a chance to ensure care can be offered to everyone who needs it. For social distancing, people are advised to stay …

• SARS-CoV-2 is a very new virus and we are learning new things about it every day with regards to how it spreads, how we can protect ourselves from it, treatments that may be able to prevent you from falling ill or treat you if you become unwell with COVID-19. The best way to…

• The BCG vaccine has been used against TB for the last 100 years. The BCG is the most widely administered vaccine in the world, although a number of low burden TB countries no longer routinely give the BCG as part of their national immunisation programme. BCG does not offer…

• Individuals with TB have a significantly higher risk for depression than the general population due to multiple reasons and these feelings are likely to be made worse during this time. It is very normal to feel anxious, stressed or fearful during a time of uncertainty and…

• We have learned from our experience with TB of the effects of stigma on people with or at risk of disease and the importance of the language we use when describing the illness. We have seen the similar use of stigmatising language by the media and others when discussing…

• The novel coronavirus-19 (nCoV-19) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new coronavirus that was only recently discovered in 2019. The virus causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These questions relate to smoking, but you can also read…

• There is substantial evidence that smoking negatively impacts lung health, inhibits the body’s responsiveness to infections, and suppresses immunity. Sound epidemiological evidence that smoking increases the risk of viral lung and throat infections led researchers…

• To date, scientists have not reached consensus on this issue though some data do support this hypothesis. It is also important to note that almost every study on this issue suffers some sort of major flaw—whether in design or by virtue of the fact that it is pending peer…

• Because vaping is still a relatively new practice, research is limited on its health effects, and it has not yet been determined if the practice contributes to conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There is, however, emerging evidence that exposure to the…

• There is no disputing that quitting smoking is difficult and that nicotine withdrawal is uncomfortable, but there has never been a better or more urgent time to stop using tobacco.

  The good news—and the really encouraging piece—is that while it is difficult to undo…

• First, and perhaps foremost, governments have an obligation to make smokers aware that they may be at increased risk for both COVID-19 and adverse disease progression. This is particularly important in the low- and middle-income countries where The Union works, and where many…

• Membership to The Union means you are part of a movement of professionals who work together to drive positive action for lung health. We help give your work a voice in the halls of government and in the news media as we drive a global advocacy agenda. We work tirelessly to…

• The Union’s Tobacco Control Department has produced five factsheets on critical aspects of tobacco control: COVID-19 and Tobacco; E-cigarettes, Heated Tobacco Products, and the Need for Bans in LMICs; Tobacco Control Implementation and Enforcement; Novel…

Technical guides on TB, tobacco control, lung health and more, written by experts.

• Information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is evolving rapidly. Please refer to the guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the latest information.

  World Health Organization US Centers for…

• The Union faculty and staff are ready to help you design courses and curriculum to meet your specific training needs. With expertise in the clinical, programmatic, and organisational management of diseases our team has designed programmes for some of the leading lung health…

• See real life examples of how The Union works to identify training needs and deliver training programmes that get results.

• The Union faculty have expertise in the clinical, programmatic, and organisational management of diseases, as well as leading expertise in public health management. Our team has decades of experience and we have designed programmes for some of the leading lung…

• The Union has worked in partnership with the following organisations on training and education programmes:

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Center for Health Solutions – Kenya Damien Foundation Dirección de Prevención y Control de Tuberculosis…

The Union is fast-tracking the publication of certain accepted articles from the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.

The Union is fast-tracking the publication of certain accepted articles from PHA.

• The Union Achievers is a series of profiles highlighting the outstanding work of individual Union staff, consultants and members around the world. Through their creativity, expertise and dedication, they have made invaluable contributions to public health challenges from TB…

Letter to the editors of IJTLD exploring the outcomes of patients with asthma in Northern Italy, exploring whether SARS-CoV-2 affected their asthma.

The TB survivor, journalist and activist from Mumbai, India, has been awarded the scholarship to Oxford University.

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• Press enquiries

  Questions from the media should be directed to the Union Communications team at press@theunion.org.

   

  Press credentials

  Working journalists are welcome to request press credentials to cover the Union World Conference on Lung Health…

The Union is a founding partner of the Global TB Caucus, an international network of more than 2,500 Members of Parliament in over 150 countries, dedicated to ending TB through strengthening health systems. To date, members have launched 53…