Virtual 2021 National Tuberculosis Conference

This e-newsletter is the first of a series planned to share important information about the Virtual 2021 National TB Conference (NTC).  Read below for an overview of the 

  • Conference agenda 
  • Registration fee schedule
  • Opening of the Abstract Submission Portal
  • Contact information

This year is a milestone for the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association (NTCA) and the National TB Conference.  This year, we celebrate NTCA’s 25 years of continued service to TB public health programs and the 25th consecutive year of hosting/co-hosting a national TB conference. We have a lot for which to be proud and we celebrate our community and conference this year!

In celebration of these significant milestones, the 2021 NTC Conference Planning Committee has developed a program reflecting the cutting-edge topics challenging our TB programs in 2021.  Diverse and timely topics are addressed in eleven 2-hour educational sessions--four more sessions than in the Virtual 2020 NTC agenda. The entire conference line-up is listed below.
Draft Conference Agenda
The following is a high-level summary of the 11 educational sessions planned for this year’s virtual conference. The next issue of the 2021 conference e-newsletter will provide additional detail, including confirmed presenters and a description of each session.

Wednesday, June 9, 2021 – Opening Session
Reenergize, Restore, and Refocus
 
Friday, June 11, 2021 – Session #2
TB in Special Populations:  Across the Lifespan

Wednesday, June 16, 2021 – Session #3
Integration in Care:  TB Nursing as a Clinical Specialty
 
Friday, June 18, 2021 – Session #4
Get Out of the House:  Identifying and Preventing Transmission Through Expanded Contact Investigations

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 – Session #5
Recalibrating: 25 Years Later! Current NAAT Utilization in TB Elimination Efforts
 
Wednesday, June 30, 2021 – Session #6
Building Powerful Partnerships to Reach TB Elimination  
 
Wednesday, July 7, 2021 – Session #7
Hot Topics in TB Diagnostics 
 
Wednesday, July 14, 2021 – Session #8
Tuberculosis and COVID-19:  Clinical Impact 

Friday, July 16, 2021 – Session #9
Impact of COVID-19 on TB Programs and Services  
 
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 – Session #10
NTCA Survey Results:  COVID-19 Impact on TB Programs and Services in the United States (and Town Hall)

Friday, July 23, 2021 – Session #11
Current Understanding of Nitrosamine Impurities in Rifampin/Rifapentine
Registration Fees for 2021 National TB Conference
The registration fees for the Virtual 2021 NTC are listed below. When the conference registration site opens, these fees can be paid by credit card, check, or ACH deposit

Participants:
  • NTCA Member - $150.00
  • NTCA Non-Member - $250.00
 
Exhibitors and Sponsors:
  • Virtual Exhibit Booth - $1,000
  • Sponsorships (includes the Virtual Exhibit Booth)
  • Silver - $5,000
  • Gold - $10,000
  • Platinum - $15,000

If you are interested in learning more about the exhibit and sponsorship opportunities of the Virtual 2021 NTC, please email Donna Hope Wegener at dhwegener@tbcontrollers.org or by phone at 678-503-0503.
Abstract Submission Portal Now Open
Abstracts for the Virtual 2021 National TB Conference (NTC) can be submitted using the online platform accessible at the link below. We welcome submissions on a variety of topics including
•      TB epidemiology 
•      TB clinical care  
•      TB research – clinical, programmatic, translational, operational
•      TB nurse case management 
•      Latent TB Infection reporting and surveillance
•      Social, behavioral, psychosocial, education and training activities
•      TB outcomes of program initiatives 
•      TB laboratory updates
•      TB and COVID 19 

Please make sure to include the following in your 350-word abstract (word count does not include the abstract title or the authors' names and affiliations):

  1. Descriptive title, list of authors, and affiliations
  2. Background/statement of problem/objectives of the analysis
  3. Methods (if applicable)
  4. Results/key findings
  5. Conclusions
Please note:
NTCA is committed to stigma-free language and the use of non-stigmatizing language is expected in the abstract for poster presentation. During the review process, if stigmatizing language is identified, authors will be encouraged to substitute non-stigmatizing language for stigmatizing terms.
As for the Virtual 2020 NTC, there will be a virtual poster session in 2021 which will remain up until June 2022. A special session for brief oral poster presentations of highly scored abstracts, will be held in mid-July.  This unique session, devoted to exploring the work of your colleagues, will elevate the visibility of the posters and the great work being conducted by TB programs and our TB lab partners.
 
Abstracts are due Friday, May 7th, and acceptance notifications will be sent by Friday May 14th.
Please note: You will need to create an account within the Abstract Management portal to submit. If you have any questions please reach out to 2021NTC@tbcontrollers.org for assistance.

Thank you for your interest in submitting an abstract showcasing the great work that you have accomplished over the last year. The posters generated from the accepted abstracts have been an important aspect of recent conferences and participants express enthusiasm about learning from their colleagues in this format! 
CONTACTS:
Sherry Brown, NTCA: sbrown@tbcontrollers.org
Donna Wegener, NTCA: dhwegener@tbcontrollers.org