What Global Emergency exactly?
In a few days’ time the WHO will publish its annual Global Tuberculosis Report. You may find some reference made to it in the media. If...


The ‘Duke’ and the secondary stories behind this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine
Duke Ellington was once asked what his favourite type of music was. “There are only two types of music”, he replied, “either good music...
So what are the real costs of drugs today?
It’s unlikely you won’t have found yourself shocked these last few days by the story of the ex-hedge fund manager who bought the rights...

... but then we'd never heard of Chuuk ...
If you know anything about TB you’ll be well aware that good news in the field of MDR-TB is hard to find. In fact we’d never really heard...


Can an infectious disease that is only successfully treated in 48% of cases not be on the rise?
That’s exactly what the WHO has been proposing. And that 48% success rate only relates to the cases that are treated: according to the...

Common health for a Commonwealth?..
..or a collective tuberculosis emergency? When the political media of the English speaking world use the word “commonwealth” they most...
Sierra Leone - a country where tuberculosis rolls on as ebola disappears
The ebola outbreak in West Africa seems to have passed into the category of ‘old news’ – with its final total death toll now somewhere...
‘As to diseases, make a habit of two things - to help, or at least to do no harm’ - Hippocrates.
It’s pretty much a given that all therapeutic interventions are accompanied by some level of risk. The tricky thing is balancing this...
Moxa – a Field Medicine for a far-from-certain Future?
Seven years ago back in 2008 Royal Dutch Shell PLC published two possible “scenarios” –their alternative extrapolations as to how the...
Stigma associated with TB and moxa use
Amongst the many challenges involved in the diagnosis and treatment of TB is the issue of stigma attached to this disease. Stigma can be...