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TBnet News March 2026


World TB Day 2026

 

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, despite being both preventable and curable. According to the World Health Organization, millions of people fall ill with TB each year, with the highest burdens in parts of Asia and Africa. Progress made in the early 21st century has slowed in recent years, partly due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising drug-resistant TB strains, and gaps in healthcare access. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in particular poses a serious challenge, requiring longer, more complex, and more expensive treatments.

 

World TB Day, observed annually on March 24, serves as a critical reminder of the ongoing fight against this disease. It commemorates the discovery of the TB bacterium by Robert Koch in 1882 and aims to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and mobilize resources. The day highlights global commitments to end TB by improving diagnosis, expanding treatment access, and investing in research for better vaccines and therapies.

 

Ultimately, World TB Day underscores that while progress has been made, sustained global effort and political will are essential to eliminate tuberculosis as a public health threat. On behalf of the Steering Committee of TBnet, we want to extend our thanks and encouragement to our members for all their work in this important field. Greater things lie ahead!


TBnet Annual Meeting 2026: Join us in Munich!


The next TBnet Annual Meeting will be held on 21st April 2026 at the Max von Pettenkofer-Institute in Munich, and registration for the event is now open at https://www.tbnet.eu/details-registrierung/tbnet-annual-meeting-2026 along with the provisional agenda.


This will be a very special Annual Meeting as we will be celebrating TBnet’s 20th Birthday! To mark the occasion, there will be an interactive session with Anne van den Ouwelant (https://trauma-international.com/) and Paulina Siniatkina (https://www.paulinasiniatkina.com/) focussing on trauma-informed care, the experience of tuberculosis, and how to approach these as researchers in partnership with those who have lived experience. Clifton Barry III will deliver the keynote lecture on TB drug development, as we continue to look forwards to shorter and less toxic regimens for tuberculosis.


Our joint dinner will take place at "Augustiner Stammhaus" (Neuhauser Straße 27, 80331 München) - on April 21 at 07:00 pm. Please register in advance (via the registration formular) to reserve your seat. Registration is possible until April 09, 2026. Food and beverages will be available for purchase à la carte. Please note that dinner is not included and must be paid separately.

TBnet Steering Committee Elections 2026


Applications are now closed for the next term of Steering Committee posts, and we have had applicants come forward for several of the positions on the committee. Now it is up to the membership of TBnet to decide!


Voting for the Steering Committee positions will open on 31.03.2026 until 16.04.2026. Each member receives an individual link via e-mail. We would ask all of our members to cast their vote. The Steering Committee oversee the running and direction of TBnet, and it is critical that the membership has their say about the future of the network.


The Next TBnet Webinar – “Sequencing Implementation in TB”

 

Join us on 29APR2026 at 1700 CET for the next TBnet webinar on sequencing implementation in programmatic settings. Andrea Cabibbe and Gulmira Kalmambetova will present their expert views on the issue, including the main constraints and opportunities in sequencing implementation, and the results of one year of programmatic sequencing implementation in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. We will inform you via e-mail as soon as the registration is open and we hope to see many of you there.

 

BREATHE Lecture Series 2026


As part of the “BREATHE – Building REspirAtory and infecTious disease Education And HEalthcare capacity in Ukraine” programme at the Research Center Borstel and the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, this lecture series aims to support medical education and continuous training for medical students, residents, and young physicians in Ukraine.


The lectures will be delivered in English, and presentation slides will be translated into Ukrainian, kindly coordinated by colleagues at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The lectures will be held on a weekly basis, starting on 27MAR2026, and you can register for the webinars at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/VcXpPWlzQzCDzsocCPuSXA#/registration.


Please find the flyer with all topics and speakers here: https://fz-borstel.de/images/veranstaltungen/Flyer_BREATHE_LECTURE_web.pdf

 

UNITE4TB Annual Meeting 2026 and STEP2C Trial


The UNITE4TB Annual Meeting will be held in Munich between 22APR2026 – 24APR2026. We would encourage any TBnet members who are interested to register to attend at https://www.unite4tb.org/unite4tb-annual-meeting-2026.


Some more good news from the consortium is the initiation of STEP2C, a Phase 2b clinical trial that forms part of the UNITE4TB clinical trial program. The study focuses on the evaluation of novel treatment combinations for drug-susceptible tuberculosis (TB), with particular attention to isoniazid monoresistance and the need for bedaquiline-sparing regimens. You can find more information here: https://www.unite4tb.org/newsroom/unite4tb-expands-clinical-trial-program-step2c-study

 

Global NTM Survey


We would encourage our members to contribute their experience to the Global NTM Survey, a study that is endorsed by NTMnet. The aim is to capture how NTM pulmonary disease diagnostic criteria and management guidance are interpreted and applied across real-world settings on a global scale. The survey closes on 28MAR2026, and it is available in multiple languages:



TBnet News

Editor – Conor Tweed

Layout & formatting – Anne Oleischeck

Cover picture – Conor Tweed


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