The 48th Union World Conference on Lung Health held in Guadalajara, Mexico, was distinguished by some of the most innovative science for combating TB and its co-infections seen in recent years – supporting the conference theme ‘Accelerating Toward Elimination’. Delegates from more than 100 countries attended the four-day scientific programme of plenaries, symposia and abstracts presented by global experts.
The Union World Conference is absolutely central to how evidence around TB and lung health is disseminated.
Plenary sessions looked ahead to the first UN HLM on TB, to be held in September 2018, the tobacco industry’s corporate abuse on economically disenfranchised groups, and new approaches and methods to collectively progress the fight against TB.
Scientific highlights included preliminary results from Stage 1 of the STREAM clinical trial, ‘wireless observed therapy’, a digital, ingestible alternative to directly observed therapy which offers remote monitoring for drug adherence, and a simple new test using oral swabs rather than gastric tests that could revolutionise TB detection in children.
The conference community space ‘Encuentro’ contained a packed programme of debates, workshops and networking sessions focused on the vital role of civil society in advancing lung health.
As the TB community moved toward a critical moment to bring TB to centre stage, the Union World Conference created a forum for collaboration and progress into the next era.