2021 CONFERENCE SESSION
Recalibrating: 25 Years Later!
Current NAAT Utilization
in TB Elimination Efforts
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Wednesday, June 23, 2021 * 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Eastern Time
Tuberculosis (TB) infection is attributed to a slow-growing acid-fast bacilli (AFB), which requires weeks or even months for a culture to show a positive result. Since the resurgence of drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB beginning in the mid-1980s, laboratories needed better and faster tools for diagnosis of TB.
In 1991, Eisenach et al. at the Veterans Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, described the first laboratory-developed nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which allowed results to be available within 48 hours, being very sensitive and specific.
In 1995, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first commercially available NAAT for tuberculosis.
In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the universal use of a NAAT for patients with suspected pulmonary TB and for whom the test result would alter case management or TB control activities.
However, the diffusion into clinical and public health microbiology laboratories has been slow owing to budget constraints in the laboratories, physicians wary to act on molecular results, and general reluctance to implement change for such a new technology.
This session will open with a history of NAAT development and use. From there, it will continues with an overview of the recommendations and the nationwide use of NAAT. After the presentations, a live panel representing TB control programs and TB laboratories will discuss the use of TB NAAT in their respective jurisdictions and institutions for diagnosing TB and ruling out TB. The panelists will also address barriers and how to overcome them to take advantage of this powerful method. Attendees will have ample opportunities to ask questions.
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Anne is the Manager of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), and TB programs for the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) where she helps strengthen laboratory systems and workforce. Prior to coming to APHL, she focused on building laboratory capacity internationally, supervised respiratory disease surveillance and clinical respiratory disease testing and investigated previously unknown viral pathogens.
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Max Salfinger,
MD, FAAM, FIDSA
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Max is currently a Professor of Public Health Practice at the University of South Florida College of Public Health and a Co-Lead for DrPH Program - Public Health and Clinical Laboratory Science and Practice. Most recently, he was the Executive Director of the Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories and the Director of the Mycobacteriology and Pharmacokinetics Laboratories at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. Before joining National Jewish Health, he was the Florida State Public Health Laboratory Director from 2006-2012. Prior to his Florida position, Max worked with the New York State Department of Health Wadsworth Center as the director of the TB laboratory from 1992 to 2006. He has trained more than 50 International Fogarty Fellows, School of Public Health Interns, and visiting scientists, and published more than 190 articles and book chapters.
Although unable to join us for the session, we want to acknowledge Max’s work on the planning committee for this session. He was instrumental in shaping this session and provides a pre-recorded overview and introduction to the session and of our faculty.
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Angela is currently Chief of the Division of TB Elimination (DTBE) Laboratory Branch, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She brings broad experience in providing technical assistance for capacity building to laboratories and consultation to TB programs regarding laboratory science and methodologies, including the use of molecular technologies both in the United States and internationally. In her current capacity, she provides laboratory-based scientific and managerial leadership to the DTBE Laboratory Branch, with an interest and research focus in the fields of drug resistance, molecular epidemiology and molecular diagnostics.
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Heidi has been the Oregon TB Controller and Nurse Consultant for the past 13 years. She is also faculty and a Warmline Consultant for the Curry International TB Center based in Oakland, CA. Heidi has served on the board of the National TB Controllers Association and was nominated as 2019 TB Controller of the Year. Previous experience includes work as an infection control practitioner at Oregon Health and Science University and public health nurse focused on communicable diseases in Los Angeles, CA. She holds a BSN from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s in Public Health from UCLA.
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Susan Butler-Wu,
PhD, D(ABMM), SM(ASCP)
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Susan is the Director of Clinical Microbiology at LAC+USC Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC in Los Angeles, California. Her research focuses on rapid diagnostics for infectious diseases. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and serves on working groups of both the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Microbiology.
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Marie-Claire Rowlinson,
PhD, D(ABMM)
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Marie-Claire received her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Medical Microbiology in the United Kingdom and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Medical and Public Health Laboratory Microbiology at University of California, Los Angeles. Following the fellowship, Marie-Claire worked with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) in their Global Health program, building laboratory capacity in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. Since 2012, she has been at the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Public Health Laboratories in Jacksonville as the Assistant Laboratory Director and CLIA Laboratory Director. In this role, she provides oversight of the TB laboratory and works closely with the TB Program and the Southeastern National TB Center. Additionally, Marie-Claire is the Chair of the APHL Infectious Diseases Committee and a Member of the TB Subcommittee. She is also the American Society for Microbiology Division Y (Public Health) Chair and is a Member of the College of American Pathologists Microbiology Committee.
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Julie Tans-Kersten,
MS, BSMT
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Julie is the Supervisor of the TB and Refugee Health Unit in the Division of Public Health at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and she also serves as the TB Controller for Wisconsin. She has served in these capacities since July 2016. Previously, Julie worked for twelve years as an Advanced Microbiologist and Tuberculosis Laboratory Program Coordinator at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
Julie has a Master of Science degree in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology (with certification from the American Society of Clinical Pathology) from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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2021 National TB Conference |
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Explore cutting-edge TB clinical and programmatic content and get a jump start on caring for your patients with TB. |
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NTCA is partnering with the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine’s Office of Continuing Medical Education and Eastern New Mexico University to provide continuing education credits for the Virtual 2021 NTC. If you cannot attend a session on its original broadcast date, you still can earn credit by watching its video recording at a later date. Video recordings of the session will be available for enduring credits for up to a year.
Earn two AMA PRA Category 1 credits™ per educational session or 22 total credits for the whole conference. Earn two nursing continuing education hours per educational session or 22 total hours for the whole conference.
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It's not too late to register!
The registration fees for the Virtual 2021 NTC are listed below. This year, we've added a discounted fee for our retired colleagues and for students in any health-related program.
Participants:
- NTCA Member - $150.00
- NTCA Non-Member - $250.00
- Retirees or Students - $75.00
Conference registration fees can be paid by credit card, check, or ACH deposit.
If you registered and missed a live session, you can view the recording for up to one year.
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In case you missed previous issues of the 2021 NTC e-newsletter, here is a listing and easy access to the content.
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