February 2022

World TB Day (WTBD) is March 24th!

WTBD is an opportunity to recognize our achievements in TB prevention and control and renew our commitment to eliminating this devastating disease in the United States. 

Save-the-date for these events:

• WTBD at TB ECHO will take place on Monday, March 28th at 12:30 - 1:30 pm, PT. Registration and more information will be available in the March newsletter.
• UCSF Center for Tuberculosis and Curry International Tuberculosis Center will be live streaming the World TB Day Symposium on March 24th at 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, PT. More information coming soon.

Recognize individuals and organizations making significant contributions to ending TB by nominating a CDC U.S. TB Elimination Champion by February 18, 2022.

2022 National TB Conference: Save the Dates and Call for Abstracts

Save the date for the 2022 National TB Conference (NTC) on May 23-26, 2022 in Palm Springs, CA. Abstract submission deadline has been extended to Friday, February 25, 2022, at 9:00 PM PT

The 2022 conference program will be posted on the NTCA website. For questions, please email 2022NTC@tbcontrollers.org.

Information for Local Health Jurisdictions

2022 Data Deadlines

Final TB Case Data Deadline: February 25, 2022

Based on the CDC deadlines for the 2021 Annual Surveillance Report, please enter the following TB case data for your jurisdiction into WDRS by February 25, 2022:

• RVCT ‘initial report’ and ‘follow-up report 1’ data for all 2021 cases
• All RVCT data (including ‘follow-up report 2’) for all 2019 and prior cases

In an effort to support this data cleanup, State TB epidemiologist staff will be reaching out to share line lists with specific requests.

Contact Investigation Data 

Each year, DOH sends contact investigation aggregate reports to CDC. State TB staff are currently reaching out to our LHJ partners regarding their TB contact investigation data to clarify connections between cases and contacts in WDRS, testing results, final disposition, and treatment details. Please work to complete these requests by February 28, 2022.

Class B TB Data (For LHJs with arrivers in 2021) 

As part of year-end reporting efforts, State TB epidemiologist staff will be reaching out this month to clarify any data-related questions regarding Class B TB arrivers.

If you will be unable to submit data by the deadlines, please contact us right away at TBServices@doh.wa.gov to discuss how we can assist. Thank you for your partnership in these annual data cleaning efforts! 

RVCT Workgroup



The TB team at DOH is reconfiguring the TB disease model in WDRS in order to meet updated CDC messaging and content requirements for Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT) V3 updates. We are seeking LHJ investigator feedback on these changes to ensure the best possible end-user experience.

We would like to invite you to participate in a workgroup that will meet for one hour each week, and run for 4-6 weeks during February and March. During workgroup sessions, we will review planned WDRS updates and discuss general feedback as well as specific areas where we would appreciate your input.

If you’re interested in joining these workgroup sessions in the coming weeks, please fill out this short survey by February 11th to indicate your availability.

BPaL Access for Medicaid Patients

We have been working with Health Care Authority (HCA) on their Medicaid formulary with the goals of removing barriers and reducing delays to accessing two of the three medications (pretomanid, bedaquiline, linezolid) in the BPaL regimen.  

We have some great news:

1. HCA is working on a solution for Medicaid coverage denials when trying to acquire bedaquiline from its sole source Metro Medical pharmacy, which is unfortunately out-of-state and not an approved supplier. Bedaquiline is already listed as a preferred drug in the formulary.
2. An estimated timeline which HCA has agreed to remove the prior authorization requirement for pretomanid is on February 7, 2022.

Linezolid is already listed as a preferred drug in the HCA formulary.

If you run into issues with accessing either of these medications for your patients with Medicaid, reach out to HCA for support at this email box: AppleHealthPharmacyPolicy@hca.wa.gov. 

Visit the TB Partners BPaL SharePoint page to see the latest updates of resources and tools to help guide providers through the BPaL acquisition process. Of course, please feel free to reach out to our program as well: tbservices@doh.wa.gov 

Rifampin Shortage Update

Though current local drug wholesalers may be out of rifampin we have

Good News. Some of the CDC rifampin 300mg (expires 4/30/2022) that we requested from the CDC National Stockpile has arrived at the King County pharmacy. 

We have no idea how long this shortage may last. Please consider using this CDC medication first and save any other rifampin with expirations after 4/30/2022.

You will find a special order form on the TB Program’s LHJ SharePoint page here: Former CDC Medication Stockpile Page

Upcoming Events and Education Opportunities

TB Expert Network: Unplugged

This joint project among CDC's TB Centers of Excellence & Division of TB Elimination provides a forum to discuss challenging or complicated cases with other TB experts. More information here.

• February 24, 2022: BPaL Cases hosted by Southeastern National TB Center
• May 5, 2022: Hosted by CDC DTBE
• August 19, 2022: Hosted by Global TB Institute
• October 6, 2022: Hosted by Heartland National TB Center
• December 8, 2022: Hosted by Curry International TB Center

Rutgers TB Grand Rounds

9:00 am - 10:00 am, PT. Regularly scheduled series highlights case presentations and lectures on a wide range of relevant topics in TB. More information here.

• March 4, 2022: TB & COVID-19
• April 15, 2022: Pre-XDR TB

March 31 - April 17, 2022 | SNTC Clinical Course: LTBI for Nurses

Registration for this SNTC course opens this month. More details to come.

May 5 - May 19, 2022 | SNTC Advanced Clinical Course: Treating MDR TB

Registration for this SNTC course opens in April. More details to come.

April 22, 2022 | UW Tuberculosis Research and Training Center 6th Annual TB Symposium

The symposium will take place in-person at the Orin Smith Auditorium, South Lake Union campus from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. A virtual option is also offered. Register here.

Washington's TB Project ECHO

12:30-1:30 pm PT. On Mondays join our lunch-time virtual discussion about real TB cases with your peers. This free interactive event is guided by a panel of local TB experts. For more information about this local project and our partners who make this ongoing event possible.

Articles

Linezolid Population Pharmacokinetics in South African Adults with Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy | 9/20/2021 | doi: 10.1128/AAC.01381-21 | Read here

Assessment of epidemiological and genetic characteristics and clinical outcomes of resistance to bedaquiline in patients treated for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

The Lancet Infectious Diseases | 11/12/2021 | doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00470-9 | Read here

Covid-19’s Devastating Effect on Tuberculosis Care — A Path to Recovery

The New England Journal of Medicine | 1/2/2022 | doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2118145 | Read here

In-Person vs Electronic Directly Observed Therapy for Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence

Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open | 1/20/2022 | doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.44210 | Read here

Shortfall in TB Research and Development Funding Persists as COVID-19 Erodes Hard-Won Gains

TB Alliance | 1/28/2022 | Read here

Video Recordings and Education Opportunities

CITC Archived Webinars

CME/CE units will not be offered for these trainings. Access here.

Rutgers TB Institute Archived Trainings

CE units are available for these webinars. Access here.

SNTC Archived Webinars

CME/CE units will not be offered for these trainings. Access here.

CDC: TB 101 for Health Care Workers

CE units expire on 11/6/2023 and are available at no cost. Access here.

A Conversation with CDC Partners

Missed the Hep B United / TB Elimination Alliance Summit: Centering Community to Advance Health Equity session on 1/20/2022? Access here.

TB ECHO Recorded Archives

Missed a TB ECHO^® session? TB ECHO^® has didactic presentations available for viewing on YouTube. Handouts related to the presentation are included where appropriate. Watch recorded TB ECHO® here

Tools and Resources

For LHJs: Delivery Express Courier

• Contact tbservices@doh.wa.gov for information about courier services for TB specimens from your local health jurisdiction to the Public Health Lab.

CDC

• CDC Guidance of COVID mRNA Vaccines, TST, and IGRA: Scroll to the "People undergoing testing for tuberculosis infection" section
• CDC Learning Connection.
• CDC TRAIN is a comprehensive catalog of free public health training opportunities from the Public Health Foundation. For TB-related trainings, click here.
• FindTBResources.cdc.gov - TB educational materials for patients and providers.
• Visit Everyday Words for Public Health Communication to find plain language alternatives for public health jargon.
• TB Personal Stories patient videos to help raise awareness about TB in the US.
• we are TB offers comprehensive peer support for current TB patients and TB clinics, including weekly live support group sessions.
• Subscribe to the CDC's quarterly newsletter, TB Notes!

Heartland National TB Center

• Stop the Stigma: Eliminating Stigmatizing Language Resources

Southeastern National TB Center

• Individualized Country Guides to support the provider-foreign-born client relationship.

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