Tuberculosis and Nontuberculous

Mycobacteria Online Course

(Four–Weeks)

About Course:

Tuberculosis is the leading infectious disease killer and the ninth cause of death globally, affecting close to 11 million people a year with 1.4 million deaths. Multidrug-resistant TB affects half a million people annually and is a growing threat to public health and a significant obstacle to eliminating this scourge of humanity. This program will provide a comprehensive overview of the geographical distribution of tuberculosis, prevention, diagnosis, and management of TB. The program is offered through distance learning and allows students to access the course online. It provides an excellent structured learning platform for trainees and professionals to develop their skills in this field. Prominent international experts will give lectures in this field, and the latest references and techniques will be presented to the students. In fact, it is an opportunity to acquire skills in research and development, public health, and other knowledge about tuberculosis.

briefly, the microbiological, geographical distribution of tuberculosis (M. TB), the infrastructure of TB laboratories, routine diagnosis, different methodologies for DNA extraction, Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST), identification, biosafety testing, and quality control in TB laboratories will also be addressed. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous in our environment. These infections are under-recognized and cause significant morbidity and mortality, worldwide. With so much advances in molecular methods, the transmission of huge number of mycobacteria called non-tuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM) is still under a question. Till date, the majority of work have been focused on tuberculosis (TB) complex mycobacteria, the knowledge of human-to-human, environmental, animal-to-human transmission, and vice versa susceptibility, and most of their NTM genomic structures have been ignored, especially in limited-resource countries.

This program is designed considering the importance of these opportunistic microorganisms that cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections. This new program will provide a comprehensive overview of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) with an emphasis on the prevention, diagnosis, and its management.

The student and/or researcher are allowed to assess the distance by Online Course which can provide an excellent structured learning platform for trainees and professionals. Prominent international experts will give lectures in this field, with the latest references and techniques.

 

lecturers:

Course content:

Title: Welcoming message EmRO-Region

Facilitators: Ali Akbar Velayati, Matthew Bates, Bennani Kenza

Co-facilitator:  Ali Akbar Velayati, Parissa Farnia, Martin van den Boom

Date: 9/10/2023

Time: 07:00-08:00 am London (BST) / 09:30-10:30 Tehran

 Title: Introduction to Tuberculosis

Facilitator: Ali Akbar Velayati 

Co-facilitator: Parissa Farnia, Mahshid Nasehi, Poopak Farnia

Date: 9/10/2023

Time: 08:00-09:00 am London (BST) / 10:30-11:30 am Tehran

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which has always been a constant challenge throughout human history due to its severe social consequences. In this section, the history of tuberculosis will be discussed from the beginning until up-to-date. Students will be familiar with the history of tuberculosis infection, treatment, diagnosis and vaccine production.

Title: TB Epidemiological Situation in EMRO

Facilitator: Martin van den Boom

Co-facilitator: BENNANI, Kenza, Parissa Farnia, Matthew Bates

Date: 9/10/2023

Time: 09:30-10:30 am London (BST) / 12:00-13:00 Tehran

Title: Latest WHO updates on DS-TB and DR-TB case management 

Facilitator: Mahshid Nasehi

Co-facilitator: Matthew Bates, Najmul Hader, John Tembo

Date: 9/10/2023

Time: 10:30-11:30 am London (BST) / 13:00-14:00 Tehran

An overview of the public health aspects of tuberculosis (TB) with an emphasis on theory, guidelines, and techniques will be taught. The students will review the strategic planning, management risk factor, and National TB Program.

Title: Global Burden of TB

Facilitator: Matthew Bates

Co-facilitator: Najmul Hader, John Tembo, Parissa Farnia

Date: 9/11/2023

Time: 07:00-09:00 am London (BST) / 9:30-11:30 am Tehran

The infrastructure of TB laboratory networks will be explained. e.g., provisional, regional, and biosafety levels 3(BSL-3), Standard operating procedures will be explained.

Title: Global Burden of TB – workshop

Facilitator: Matthew Bates

Co-facilitator: Najmul Hader, John Tembo, Parissa Farnia

Date: 9/11/2023

Time: 09:30-11:30 am London (BST) / 12:00-14:00 Tehran

Title: TB Diagnostics

Facilitator: Rumina Hassan

Co-facilitator: Sadia Shakoor, Franklyn Nkongho, Poopak Farnia

Date: 9/18/2023

Time: 07:00-08:00 am London (BST) / 09:30-10:30 Tehran

Title: TB Diagnostics – Workshop

Facilitator: Rumina Hassan

Co-facilitator: Sadia Shakoor, Sarah Baber, Franklyn Nkongho, Poopak Farnia

Date: 9/18/2023

Time: 08:00-10:00 am London (BST) / 10:30-12:30 Tehran

Title: Infrastructure and biosafety conditions of TB laboratories

Facilitator: Véronique Vincent

Co-facilitator: Franklyn Nkongho, Rumina Hassan, Sadia Shakoor

Date: 9/18/2023

Time: 12:30-14:30 London (BST) / 15:00-17:00 Tehran

Quality Control, Good laboratory practice, safety and Biosafety of the TB laboratory in three levels (provisional, regional, and central biosafety levels 3) will be discussed.

Title: Drug-resistant TB – new drugs and the role of DST

Facilitator: Sven Hoffner

Co-facilitator: Mark Odell, Matthew Bates, BENNANI Kenza, Jafar Aghajani

Date: 9/25/2023         

Time: 07:00-08:00 am London (BST) / 09:30-10:30 am Tehran

The global epidemiology and trends of DR-TB, new recommendations from WHO on how to best treat TB and DR-TB (including the use of new and repurposed drugs), and the need to be able to detect resistance and resistance development to these agents.

Title: Novel approaches to developing TB drugs

Facilitator: Mark Odell

Co-facilitator: Sven Hoffner, Matthew Bates, Jafar Aghajani

Date: 9/25/2023

Time: 08:00-09:00 am London (BST) / 10:30-11:30 Tehran

Title: Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM)

Facilitator: Joseph Falkinham, Rachel Thomson

Co-facilitator: Poopak Farnia

Date: 9/25/2023

Time: 09:30-10:30 am London (BST) / 12:00-13:00 Tehran

Title: Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) – Workshop

Facilitator: Joseph Falkinham, Rachel Thomson

Co-facilitator: Poopak Farnia

Date: 9/25/2023

Time: 10:30-12:30 am London (BST) / 13:00-15:00 Tehran

Title: Epidemiology and geographical information system (GIS) of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM)

Facilitator: Poopak Farnia

Co-facilitator:  Parissa Farnia, Jafar Aghajani

Date: 9/26/2023

Time: 07:00-08:00 am London (BST) / 09:30-10:30 am Tehran

The epidemiology, prevalence, and distribution of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) will be discussed throughout the world. There is a significant knowledge gap regarding the geographic distribution of nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) isolates worldwide. Non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) has been reported to be increasing worldwide and its geographic distribution varies by region. Geographic Information System (GIS) and its uses in the investigation of NTM infections will be taught. Using microbiological data and GIS tools, we will discuss the geographic distribution and demographic characteristics of patients associated with non-tuberculous mycobacterium isolates.

Title: Identification and Drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM)

Facilitator: Satoshi Mitarai

Co-facilitator:  Poopak Farnia

Date: 9/26/2023

Time: 08:00-10:00 am London (BST) / 10:30-12:30 Tehran

The mortality incidence from nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections has been steadily developing globally. Nevertheless, the emergence of highly resistant NTM to different antibiotics and disinfectants increased the importance of these agents in the health system. This is of concern as the resistant NTM are difficult to control and treat. The most important mechanisms of NTM resistance not only to antibiotics but also to the most common disinfectants will be reviewed.  Also, different molecular techniques will be discussed.

Title: Methods of Environmental NTMs isolation

Facilitator: Satoshi Mitarai

Co-facilitator:  Parissa Farnia

Date: 9/26/2023

Time: 10:30-12:30 am London (BST) / 13:00-14:00 Tehran

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous in the environment. The methods used to isolate and identify NTMs from environmental samples (air, water, and soil) will be discussed.

Title: Mycobacterium leprae and leprosy

Facilitator: Bouke de Jong

Co-facilitator:  Sofie Braet

Date: 9/27/2023

Time: 10:30-12:30 am London (BST) / 13:00-14:00 Tehran

Title: Sequencing TB – Introduction and dry practical

Facilitator: Rob Warren Team

Co-facilitator:  Rob Warren Team

Date: 10/2/2023

Time: 07:00-08:00 am London (BST) / 09:30-10:30 Tehran

Title: Sequencing TB – Workshop

Facilitator: Rob Warren Team

Co-facilitator:  Rob Warren Team

Date: 10/2/2023

Time: 08:30-10:30 am London (BST) / 11:00-13:00 Tehran

 

Entry requirements:

i) People working in the mycobacteria field. Medical students.
ii) Any interested individual with background of medicine / pulmonologist /cardiologist / infectious diseases/ biological sciences/ allied health sciences from any countries are eligible to apply for this course.
iii) Personal statement explaining the reasons for applying for this course and what the candidate hopes to gain.
iv) Clinical/academic letter of reference.

Months of entry:

9/10/2023 (September) – 10/2/2023 (October)

Location:

Online

Language:

English

Number of participants (maximum):

50

 

Mycobacteriology Research Center (MRC), National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (NRITLD),
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

 

Global Diagnostics Solutions Ltd  

School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Lincoln,

United Kingdom

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