Tuberculosis (TB) World Day, 24th March, 2017
In honour of Tuberculosis (TB) World Day we are happy to share a short interview with. Dr. Ami Neuberger, one of the experts the participants in the Management and Control of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Diseases programme learn from.
Dr. Ami Neuberger is an attending physician in the Infectious Diseases Unit and the Department of Internal Medicine at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Dr. Neuberger has completed specializations in Internal Medicine (2007) and Infectious Diseases (2011). He has resided and worked in Equatorial Guinea (2008), worked in post-earthquake Haiti (2010), and participated in several studies conducted there.
Dr. Neuberger has also worked in Nepal (2013) and is taking part in several ongoing studies of typhoid fever and parasitic infections therein the country. In 2014 he was a member of a delegation sent by Israel’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to the Ivory Coast as part of a program on Ebola preparedness. Dr. Neuberger has contributed to publications focusing on malaria research, epidemiology in Third World countries, epidemiology of febrile diseases and epidemics, and tropical diseases such as cholera, malaria, and Japanese brain fever.
What are the challenges doctors are facing these days to eradicate TB?
"Too many, sadly. In some countries the healthcare system lacks the resources to adequately diagnose and treat all patients, especially in remote areas. In areas like East Europe,– drug resistance is a huge problem – it lowers the probability of cure, and therefore increases the probability of transmission to others".
The BCG vaccine is no longer one of the routine immunizations, do you think the MoH should bring it back?
"The BCG vaccine prevents some of the more severe forms of tuberculosis, but on the whole does not lower significantly the number of people who are infected. It is therefore reasonable in areas with a high prevalence of TB, but worthless in areas with less TB. It is also, less important in all areas when compared to adequate diagnosis and treatment of patients".
TB-HIV co-infection. The link between HIV and TB. Can you comment on the following data released by the WHO:
"New data released by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show that new TB cases and deaths have continued to decline in the 53 countries of the WHO European Region, by 4.3% and 8.5% respectively between 2011 and 2015.
However, vulnerable groups for TB infection, such as people living with HIV, do not benefit from this overall trend. In 2011-2015, new TB/HIV co-infections increased by 40%. Testing all TB patients for HIV, and vice versa, and providing rapid treatment could reverse this negative trend". (World TB Day 2017: Focus on TB/HIV Co-infection)
"This data from Eastern Europe relates to a population with HIV. Patients with HIV are at a huge risk of being infected with TB. They should be screened regularly, and treatment should be administered efficiently. Many people, especially in Europe, with HIV and TB are from less privileged backgrounds (drug abusers, sex workers, prisoners), – and there should be a whole system (not only medical personnel) to ensure that treatment is given correctly, and taken correctly. Some of these patients should receive treatment using directly observed therapy".
