Latent TB (Part 4) – acquired immunity and mixed infections
Let’s set the scene by starting with some much-needed good news. Protection from further infection afforded by a TB infection In the process of writing these blogs we’ve come to a new appreciation of how the risk of a re-activated infection following an initial latent infection falls so ‘precipitously’ after the first twelve months after infection[i]. Put in the simplest of terms, this means that if you’re unlucky enough to have spent some limited time in the presence of an i
Latent TB (Part 3) – moxa therapy, viability in the invisibility?
So far we’ve looked at some of the complexities and uncertainties relating to these so-called ‘latent’ aspects of a pandemic plague of sub-clinical infection. We’ve wondered how the outflow from this immense 1.8 billion-strong ocean of potential infection into the active sea of re-activated infectious TB might be stifled with effective targeted treatment. Doing so could help starve the disease of what it essentially needs - but yet we seem to be as far away from this goal as
Latent MDR-TB (Part 2): the invisible within the invisible
In Part 1 we discussed the nature of latent TB (LTBI), and some of the current (and recurrent) deficiencies in treating it. In this part, we discuss specifically how LTBI is treated and, in relation to this, how much of the immense pool of latent infection might already be drug-resistant because this is a critical issue. So how is LTBI treated? The most recent WHO guidelines include four options for treatment of LTBI, including three new shorter drug regimens A daily dose of
Latent tuberculosis (part 1) - The Invisible Plague
In the last month two studies have been published which have focused our attentions on latent TB - not least because their contents have highlighted the potential importance of some of our latest findings. What follows is an extended discussion on the complexities of latent tuberculosis. It consists of four parts: Part 1: discusses latent TB, the primary invisible plague, and the current efforts to address it. Part 2: discusses the secondary doubly invisible plague of latent
