According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis (TB), the contagious airborne disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex species, is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. More specifically, in a 2017 study, TB:
(i) infected an estimated 10 million people including an estimated of 1.6 million death
(ii) killed 300’000 people with HIV and
(iii) killed 230’000 children, including those with HIV.
Tuberculosis has not only a dramatic impact on the quality of life for infected patients, but also raises many socio-economic issues at community level, especially in medium and high burden regions, such as India, China and Indonesia.
In 2014, WHO adopted the ‘’End TB strategy’’, which aimed to reduce TB deaths by 90% between 2015 and 2030, to prevent new cases by 80% during the same period and to decrease the socio-economic impact of the disease at a family level.
Even though tuberculosis global incidence has decreased significantly, efforts still need to be made to reach these objectives.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTMs), in contrast to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are bacteria widely spread in the environment and can be found in a broad range of ecosystems such as soils and water, including drinking water systems. NTMs are opportunistic pathogens associated with both pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections.
The medical importance of NTM has recently raised due to the increasing number of immune-compromised hosts (solid organ transplant recipients and oncologic patients among others) and due to the modern tools that improved their detection in a clinical sample.
Primarily scientific community should propose novel and more effective approaches that would contribute to the control and alleviation of tuberculosis as well as modern tools to improve the diagnosis and management of nontuberculous infections.
This Research Topic aims to collect different articles in the domain of tuberculosis control and management of NTMs infections. We welcome articles addressing the epidemiology of tuberculosis and NTMs infections, the identification of new technologies for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and NTMs infections and the development of new anti-mycobacterial drugs.
We would also like to include studies that address new approaches for patient management, such as those which take into account socio-economic considerations.
Commentary and opinion articles addressing tuberculosis issues among different countries, as well as new paradigms are also welcomed, as well as basic research articles, addressing any topic in the field of tuberculosis and NTMs, including, pathogenesis, immunity, host genetics and bacterial genetics.
We hope that this Research Topic will help the emergence of innovative approaches in the field of tuberculosis control and would aid in defeating the disease and improving the management of NTMs infections.
According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis (TB), the contagious airborne disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex species, is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. More specifically, in a 2017 study, TB:
(i) infected an estimated 10 million people including an estimated of 1.6 million death
(ii) killed 300’000 people with HIV and
(iii) killed 230’000 children, including those with HIV.
Tuberculosis has not only a dramatic impact on the quality of life for infected patients, but also raises many socio-economic issues at community level, especially in medium and high burden regions, such as India, China and Indonesia.
In 2014, WHO adopted the ‘’End TB strategy’’, which aimed to reduce TB deaths by 90% between 2015 and 2030, to prevent new cases by 80% during the same period and to decrease the socio-economic impact of the disease at a family level.
Even though tuberculosis global incidence has decreased significantly, efforts still need to be made to reach these objectives.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTMs), in contrast to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are bacteria widely spread in the environment and can be found in a broad range of ecosystems such as soils and water, including drinking water systems. NTMs are opportunistic pathogens associated with both pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections.
The medical importance of NTM has recently raised due to the increasing number of immune-compromised hosts (solid organ transplant recipients and oncologic patients among others) and due to the modern tools that improved their detection in a clinical sample.
Primarily scientific community should propose novel and more effective approaches that would contribute to the control and alleviation of tuberculosis as well as modern tools to improve the diagnosis and management of nontuberculous infections.
This Research Topic aims to collect different articles in the domain of tuberculosis control and management of NTMs infections. We welcome articles addressing the epidemiology of tuberculosis and NTMs infections, the identification of new technologies for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and NTMs infections and the development of new anti-mycobacterial drugs.
We would also like to include studies that address new approaches for patient management, such as those which take into account socio-economic considerations.
Commentary and opinion articles addressing tuberculosis issues among different countries, as well as new paradigms are also welcomed, as well as basic research articles, addressing any topic in the field of tuberculosis and NTMs, including, pathogenesis, immunity, host genetics and bacterial genetics.
We hope that this Research Topic will help the emergence of innovative approaches in the field of tuberculosis control and would aid in defeating the disease and improving the management of NTMs infections.