June 2023

*Updated Product* Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Survival Guide for Clinicians, 3rd edition/2022 Updates

The Curry International Tuberculosis Center (CITC) released online the three remaining chapters of the 2022 updates to the 3rd edition of its highly acclaimed guide.

Welcome New TB Program Staff!

Moon Choi-Mcinturff, TB Epidemiologist

Moon has worked for a decade at a local health jurisdiction in California (San Mateo County), first in the public health laboratory, then as an epidemiologist where she primarily worked with the Communicable Diseases and TB programs through surveillance, supporting outbreak and contact investigations, and general data wrangling. She just graduated with a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation examined the trends of sexually transmitted infections and how they intersect with social factors by leveraging data sources in public health departments. She lives in Seattle with her husband and their three cats, Titan, Io, and Selene. She enjoys hiking, rock climbing, quilting, and bread baking.

Moon can be reached at [email protected].

Leslie Byerly, TB Operations & Business Manager 

After working peripherally with the TB Program for more than 5 years in Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Leslie is excited to join the team as their new Operations & Business Manager. She began her work at DOH in syndromic surveillance and the RHINO Program and has assisted with several outbreaks during her tenure. Leslie will be focusing on grant/budget work, analyzing business issues, and supervising some of the amazing TB team. Outside of work, you may find Leslie in her garden/talking to her indoor plants, watching trashy reality TV, or tackling a crafty project.

Leslie can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 360-918-2381. 

WA DOH Staff Attends the 2023 National TB Conference

National Spotlight: Staff from the WA DOH TB Program and TB Lab attend the National TB Coalition of America’s joint conference with the Association of Public Health Laboratories in Atlanta.

From left to right: Jen Hubber, Ryan Ortiguerra, Lisa Ferguson, Lana Kay Dov, and Kelsey Hewson.

Lana Kay Dov presenting Investigation of a Tuberculosis Outbreak in the Washington State Prison System.

TB Medication Shortages Continue 

As of this newsletter publication, Isoniazid and Moxifloxacin are both out of stock at the local Cardinal warehouse due to the manufacturers being unable to currently keep up with demand.

Additionally, manufacturers of other items commonly used items such as Sodium Chloride are having trouble keeping up with demand.

Information for Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJs)

Shipping Reminders for Sputum Samples

It's getting warm and so is your sputum! When temperatures rise we do see more overgrown sputum which results in an unsatisfactory sample and no testing performed. To prevent this, the WAPHL recommends shipping using the courier services and ship on ice packs with each sputum sample labeled as a "cold sample" type. Please remember it is the responsibility of the LHJ to package the specimen in a way that it will be delivered in a satisfactory way for testing.

HRSA 340B Recertification for TB Medications Completed

Thank you to all everyone for their patience during the annual 340B recertification! All LHJs have been recertified for another year for their TB 340B entity account.

TB Partners SharePoint Updates 

The Arriver Information page has a new post on Electronic Disease Notification updates that were incorporated in May.

New VDOT updates coming this August include two-way text chat and live video chat integration.

Due to MS Word document form issues, the medication order forms have been updated to PDF documents.

Please contact [email protected] if you are experiencing SharePoint access issues or would like to request access.

Phlebotomy Training Available

The DOH TB Program is partnering with the Phlebotomy Training Center at the University of Washington to offer phlebotomy training for LHJ TB program staff to be able to perform TB blood tests.

This is a two day in-person training in Seattle that requires one month advance notice to schedule. Class space is limited. LHJs who are interested in sending over staff to obtain this certification, should contact [email protected].

Upcoming Events and Education Opportunities

June 27, 2023 | The Pediatrician's Role in TB Elimination in the US - Livestream (virtual)

The Mayo Clinic Center for Tuberculosis is hosting their first webinar of the year. This will be a 1-hour webinar given by one of MCCT's Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialists on how pediatricians can help aid in the elimination of tuberculosis. Continuing education credits available. Register here.

June - September 2023 | Rutgers Global TB Institute TB 101 Series

This 13-part webinar series will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of tuberculosis (TB). The live sessions will be held on Fridays at 7 - 8 am PT. More information here.

August 23, 2023 | Fundamentals of Medical & Case Management of Drug-Susceptible TB

This CITC training is intended for nurses and case managers who provide care for TB patients within the public health setting. Register here.

Southeastern National TB Center (SNTC) Trainings

These summer and fall training applications will be posted on the website soon.

• August 10-24, 2023: LTBI for Clinicians
• August 28 - November 17, 2023: TB Nurse Case Management Fall Cohort
• October 12 - November 2, 2023: LTBI for Nurses

Mycobacterium Interest Group Seminar Series

The Seattle TB Research Advancement Center (SEATRAC) holds monthly Friday sessions (typically on the fourth Friday) which features both basic science and clinical science presentations. More information here.

Washington's TB Project ECHO

12:30-1:30 pm PT. On Mondays join our lunch-time virtual discussion about real TB cases with your peers. This free interactive event is guided by a panel of local TB experts. For more information about this local project and our partners who make this ongoing event possible.

Articles

Drug Shortages with CDR Emily Thakur, Q&A with FDA Podcast | Transcript

US Food & Drug Administration | 5/2023

Tuberculosis Infection among Non–US-Born Persons and Persons ≥60 Years of Age, United States, 2019–2020

Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal | 6/2023 | doi: 10.3201/eid2907.230324

Pulmonary Nontuberculous Mycobacteria, Ontario, Canada, 2020

Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal | 6/2023 | doi: 10.3201/eid2907.230216

TB Notes 2, 2023

CDC's Division of TB Elimination | 6/2023

Video Recordings and Education Opportunities



CITC Archived Webinars

CME/CE units will not be offered for these trainings. Access here.

Rutgers TB Institute Webinar Archives

CE units are not available for these archives. Access here.

SNTC Archived Webinars

CME/CE units are not offered for these trainings. Access here.

SNTC Online Courses

CME/CE units are offered for these trainings. Access here.

• When TB is the Least of Their Worries: Mini-Course Series (expires 9/3/2025)

CDC: TB 101 for Health Care Workers

CE units expire on 11/6/2023 and are available at no cost. Access here.

TB ECHO Recorded Archives

Missed a TB ECHO^® session? TB ECHO^® has didactic presentations available for viewing on YouTube. Handouts related to the presentation are included where appropriate. Watch recorded TB ECHO® here

Tools and Resources



Minnesota's Center of Excellence in Newcomer Health

• Access helpful tools, trainings, and updates for newcomers and refugee health here.

CDC

• CDC Learning Connection.
• CDC TRAIN is a comprehensive catalog of free public health training opportunities from the Public Health Foundation. For TB-related trainings, click here.
• FindTBResources.cdc.gov - TB educational materials for patients and providers.
• Visit Everyday Words for Public Health Communication to find plain language alternatives for public health jargon.
• TB Personal Stories patient videos to help raise awareness about TB in the US.
• we are TB offers comprehensive peer support for current TB patients and TB clinics, including weekly live support group sessions.
• Subscribe to the CDC's quarterly newsletter, TB Notes!

DOH Refugee Health Program

• Afghan Health Resources - Fact sheets, webinars, videos, and other health resources (scroll down for TB resources).
• Ukrainian Health Resources - Fact sheets, webinars, videos, and other health resources to support new arrivals from Ukraine (scroll down for TB resources).

Heartland National TB Center

• Stop the Stigma: Eliminating Stigmatizing Language Resources (Heartland products and training materials will soon be found on the new 2023-2027 TB COE sites)

Southeastern National TB Center

• Individualized Country Guides

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