Study Indicates Progress Regarding TB Elimination Initiatives In US

Infectious Disease Advisor (7/12, Nye) said that according to findings published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, programs targeted at removing tuberculosis (TB) from the US have realized “improvements in identifying individuals infected with TB and latent TB and ensuring they complete treatment.” Infectious Disease Advisor added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “and internal and external partners defined a set of national TB objectives and indicators aimed at eliminating TB.” These goals are evaluated through “the National TB Indicators Project (NTIP), a web-based performance monitoring tool that compiles national TB surveillance data to help prioritize activities and improvement efforts in TB elimination programs.” The study found researchers look to evaluate “the overall TB incidence among individuals born inside and outside of the US, the rate of patients with available drug susceptibility test results, and the rate of treatment completion for patients with TB and latent TB.”