March 24 was World Tuberculosis Day. To mark the occasion, more than 100 people attended a Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) organized a CIHR Café Scientifique called “Tuberculosis: Portrait of a global killer, in Canada and around the World.” It took place on March 21 at the Monument National.
Front-line TB experts, including nurses, scientists and public health representatives, shed light on this international public health issue. The outcome of the event was clear: we need to continue our fight against TB – a disease that kills someone every 22 seconds around the world.
Dr. Marcel Behr, a professor at McGill University and researcher at the RI-MUHC, took the opportunity to launch the McGill International TB Centre, of which he is the Director.
This new entity will coordinate the findings of people working around the world in a variety of fields related to the disease, from public health initiatives to the latest in scientific research to the social workers on the frontlines.
The centre brings together over 20 scientists with expertise ranging from economics to mouse models, with a number of collaborating international groups, all in an effort to fight TB.
Please visit McGill International TB Centre website: http://www.mcgill.ca/tb/
For an article and radio interview with Dr. Behr, visit the Radio-Canada International website
Also read opinion-editorial pieces in The Guardian and The Hindu from Dr. Mahdukar Pai, researcher at the RI-MUHC and professor at McGill University, which address accessibility of TB tests.
TB control: Private sector can join the ‘dots’ (The Hindu – Business Line)
March 28, 2013