South Africa has made much progress in reducing poverty and income inequality over the last 30 years. But what does this mean for HIV, STIs and teenage pregnancy? Our new study assesses this: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Symposium & workshop on inequalities in infectious disease dynamics at LSHTM in April 2026. We aim to will bring together leading researchers and practitioners to share ideas, discuss recent advances, and reflect on future directions. Details & application: iddconf.org/lshtm-sympos... Closing 21 Jan

🗞️ ICYMI: recent framework led by @cfmcquaid.bsky.social & members at @lshtm.bsky.social looked at impact of climate change on the #TB epidemic Framework shows why TB needs to be considered a climate-sensitive disease & the steps required Read paper 🔽 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Everyone in TB talks about “nutrition matters.” But what happens when you actually ask households with TB what kind of nutritional support works for them? We did exactly that through the TB LENS qualitative study in South India. tinyurl.com/mr42k9k8

#2 Epidemiological modelling of the impact and mitigation of climate change on tuberculosis mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj... with myself, @mjsaunder.bsky.social & Helen Stagg

Another successful "Intro to TB Modelling" course in Copenhagen at #WLHC2025. Over 70 joined to learn about TB modelling! Followed by the now-traditional TB Modelling and Analysis Consortium social, which was also very well-attended and a lot of fun.

@lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social is offering multiple PhD opportunities through MRC LID, deadline 14 Jan. More details: mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/applicants/ Projects include #1 TB & screening #2 TB & climate change #3 TB & vaccines #4 TB & influenza #5 TB & prevention @cmmid-lshtm.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social

What’s a #UnionConf without the TB modelling course? Packed room again for a long day of intro to modelling. @lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social @tb-mac.bsky.social #WCLH2025 #TBSky

🌍 Climate change and #tuberculosis 🔹 Commissioned by @whowpro.bsky.social, the authors developed an analytical framework outlining potential causal relationships between climate change and TB, highlighting the need to consider TB as a climate-sensitive disease 🖇️ tinyurl.com/4ccn5kad

🎙️ @cfmcquaid.bsky.social and Matthew J Saunders also joined Deputy Editor, Arianna Colosio, for a podcast to discuss the piece 🎧 Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/1459960/epis...

How will population shifts affect the future burden of #AMR? 👶👩‍🦳 🧫 We use a new modelling framework to explore future projections of #AMR by age and by sex, as well as interventions for control, building on our earlier findings that AMR isn’t uniform across demographics. doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Our framework that informed the @who.int TB & climate change policy brief out now in @lancetrespirmed.bsky.social, exploring the intersections and implications of climate change for the TB epidemic. Key message? TB should be considered a climate-sensitive disease www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

New comment: Tuberculosis and undernutrition: improving estimates to reinforce the policy imperative www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

We think our recent review provides a better estimate of the RR leading to a much higher PAF, demonstrating the importance of addressing undernutrition to prevent TB. academic.oup.com/ije/article/...

“Wow, I saw in the last GTB report undernutrition is much less important for TB than we previously thought” I hear you say… Well, no. We think this is an underestimate, & as much as 28% of TB could be attributable to undernutrition – see our latest comment here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

When fluoroquinolone resistance status is unknown, empirical use of BPaLM (adding moxifloxacin to BPaL) is cost-effective as a replacement for BPaL even with high fluoroquinolone resistance levels! 🦠💊 doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Understanding patterns of #TB exposure and transmission is needed for targeted prevention strategies. In our latest pre-print, @petedodd24.bsky.social and I estimated the proportion of TB exposure to and transmission from sex and age groups for 177 countries. bit.ly/4nbV492

In a new preprint (NOT PEER REVIEWED) we continue to explore the challenge of overtreatment in community screening. It seems the benefits of TB treatment far outweigh the harms, especially once we accept that sputum culture is not perfect. Important food for thought. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

PhD opportunity: New approaches to modelling TB transmission in low-incidence settings. Supervised by Ellen Brooks-Pollock (Bristol), me (Bath) & Rajeka Lazarus (Bristol) Apply: www.findaphd.com/phds/project... Deadline 20 Oct #PhD #Tuberculosis #Epidemiology #InfectiousDisease

Our systematic review of rural/urban differences in #TB prevalence shows evidence of rapidly urbanising epidemics in many settings, with differences across countries and regions. Link to preprint below ⬇️

More projected impacts of cuts to international health aid on paediatric #tuberculosis urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=htt...

@who.int is appalled by the latest evacuation order, demanding 1 million people to move from Gaza City to a “humanitarian zone” in the south. To civilians: WHO and partners remain in Gaza City. To the intl. community: Act. This catastrophe is human-made, & the responsibility rests with us all.

Our work on modelling population-wide screening in Viet Nam is now available in PLOS Global Public Health! tinyurl.com/3ymhuj5s

So...what would happen to the global TB epidemic if we hypothetically "eliminated" undernutrition? In this preprint, we combined estimates from our new review (doi.org/10.1093/ije/...) with population-specific BMI distributions to find out...(doi.org/10.1101/2025...)

Nutritional status is a key determinant of TB. In this updated systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis (43 cohorts inc > 26 million people) we redefined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and TB. doi.org/10.1093/ije/...

At a time when global resources for #TB research, development, prevention, and care are limited, which interventions should be prioritised in high burden settings? 📢 Our new pre-print compares the impact, cost, and cost-effectiveness of 9 TB interventions in 3 countries. 1/n bit.ly/3V3vXth

The global TB epidemic is driven by social determinants. In this case-control study in Peru, we characterised the associations between multidimensional household poverty, personal risk factors, and TB. @tb-lshtm.bsky.social idpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

The 2.1 million people trapped in the war zone that is #Gaza are facing yet another killer on top of bombs and bullets: starvation. We demand full access to deliver aid. We demand the release of all hostages. We demand a ceasefire. We demand a political solution.

This is a man-made disaster. Enough is enough. The United Nations must be allowed to deliver aid of all types at scale to families in Gaza, wherever they are.

Sobering study on the devastating impact of aid cuts on tuberculosis incidence and mortality in low and middle income countries Governments of highest TB burden nations will need to wake up and invest more! www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Our work estimating the potential impacts of reductions in international donor funding for #TB is now out in @lancetgh.bsky.social: bit.ly/3TDl28T @raclark18.bsky.social @cfmcquaid.bsky.social @alexandra-richards.bsky.social @top-j.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social @richardwhite321.bsky.social

The facts are simple and devastating: Aid cuts have already cost lives, and the number of deaths will continue to rise. Here’s the evidence. ​

In our latest personal view in @lancetrespirmed.bsky.social, we argue for the inclusion asymptomatic #tuberculosis in vaccine trial endpoints to potentially reduce the size, length, and cost of trials. doi.org/10.1016/S221... @lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social @tb-lshtm.bsky.social

Super stuff @petermacp.bsky.social @lightontb.bsky.social team!

Until there is a test for TB infection with higher specificity than IGRA, the use of the non-inferiority trial design for TB vaccine prevention of infection outcomes is not recommended. @richardwhite321.bsky.social @cfmcquaid.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social

The escalation of hostilities between #Israel and #Iran is putting health facilities and access to health care at risk. The reports on the attacks on health so far are appalling.

Can you believe it’s already been 25 years!? Come join us on 20 June 2025 at 4pm UK time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Introduction to #Infectious Disease #Modelling course delivered by @lshtm.bsky.social and @ukhsa.bsky.social! More info 👉 www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...

We know that undernourished persons with TB are at higher risk of mortality, but why? My incredible mentee Dr. Alexa Tabackman tries to understand why in this new paper: tinyurl.com/2jc76v8c A thread 🧵 @buceid.bsky.social @bostonmedical.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social @meganmurray.bsky.social

NEW PRE-PRINT (currently going through peer review) In this secondary analysis of the RIFASHORT trial we classified TB disease severity at baseline and show that for the majority of people 4-months of rifampicin-based treatment, without the use of a quinolone, was non-inferior to the 6-month SOC.

TB & climate change: @who.int report out now, building on an analytical framework we developed to explore the intersections and implications for the TB epidemic. Key message? TB should be considered a climate-sensitive disease www.who.int/publications...

Amid all the bad news in Global Health, perhaps some good news? A first analysis on the risk of false positive diagnoses in community-screening for tuberculosis using Xpert shows our clinic-based data is likely (very) wrong and overestimates false positives by >80%: tinyurl.com/yfecute9.

Are you interested in #TB and have experience in #modelling infectious diseases? Come join us in the TB Modelling Group at #LSHTM! We're advertising for a 1 year Research Fellow position, with a closing date of 30 May 2025 👉 jobs.lshtm.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

New pre-print on perceptions of #gender equitable norms and #TB testing history in Malawi, led by @elizabeth-digi.bsky.social with @esnightingale.bsky.social @petermacp.bsky.social Helena Feasey, Rebecca Soko, Vincent Phiri, Liz Corbett @kchorton.bsky.social www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Just published: our qualitative study from South India on food insecurity in TB-affected households during COVID-19 lockdowns—and how a nutritional intervention helped. 📄 journals.plos.org/globalpublic... @theunion.org @stoptb.bsky.social @tb-lshtm.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social

#Tuberculosis prevention and care relies heavily on international donor funding in many settings. In our latest preprint, we examine the potential impact of reductions in international donor funding for #TB - by the US and by other major donor countries. 1/8 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Climate-driven migration and displacement and their potential impact on TB in Latin America gh.bmj.com/content/10/4... @cfmcquaid.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social @lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social

New pre-print modelling impact of US funding cuts on HIV, #TB, MCH and family planning. We estimate impact of termination of US funding to NTPs via #USAID & The Global Fund may lead to 2.2 (1.5-2.9) million excess TB deaths between 2025 and 2040, reversing over a decade of progress. bit.ly/4lowp18

Great to be able to finally get this work out, closing out my time with @lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social

The apparent apathy to ongoing genocides (bar some), increased focus on maintaining arms sales by HIC governments and decimated funding landscape especially for TB only going to make things much worse…. 😔

In 2024, 68 million people were internally displaced by humanitarian crises, & are at increased risk of TB, the world's biggest infectious disease killer. We urgently need estimates to identify the scale of this problem & drive our response. We provide initial numbers here gh.bmj.com/content/10/3...