World TB Day 2008
This slogan marked the start of a two-year campaign for all those involved in the fight against TB worldwide.
World TB Day, which is observed every year on 24 March around the world, is dedicated to building awareness about tuberculosis and commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the tubercle bacillus. This year, World TB Day was devoted to celebrating the lives and stories of people affected by TB: women, men and children who have taken TB treatment; nurses; doctors; researchers; community workers--anyone who has contributed towards the global fight against TB.
Columbia University hosts TB roundtable discussion
In New York, BD organized a roundtable discussion at Columbia University highlighting
the theme "TB Today: Old Enemy, New Hurdles". Experts included Dr. Ken Castro, Director of the division of TB Elimination
of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Nils Daulaire, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of the Global Health Council, Dr. Giorgio Roscigno, FIND CEO, Dr. Jorge Sampaio, Former President of Portugal
and UN Special Envoy to Stop TB and Dr. Salman Siddiqi, BD Fellow, Emeritus. Representatives from the Aeras Global
TB Vaccine Foundation, the American Thoracic Society, Earth Institute at Columbia University, Global Alliance
for TB Drug Development and Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, also participated in the discussion.
The discussion was moderated by John Rennie, Editor-in-Chief of Scientific American, who summarized the event by describing the TB movement with two words: urgency and dignity. In addition to describing the current status, challenges and recommendations to better fight TB and its resistant forms globally, panelists stressed the importance of increasing advocacy actions at all levels.
NYSE closing bell tolls for World TB Day
From left to right: Noreen Culhane, Executive Vice President, New York Stock Exchange; Giorgio Roscigno, CEO of FIND; Jorge Sampaio, UN Special Envoy to Stop TB; and Edward J. Ludwig, BD Chairman, President, and CEO, gathered to Ring The Closing BellSM on World TB Day
The New York Stock Exchange highlighted World TB Day on 24 March with Dr. Jorge Sampaio, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Stop TB, Dr. Edward J. Ludwig, Chairman, President and CEO of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Dr. Giorgio Roscigno, CEO of FIND who rang the closing bell to mark this special day.
Berlin marks World TB Day with TB symposium
On the occasion of World TB Day, an international symposium was held on 24-25 March 2008 at the Langenbeck-Virchow Haus in Berlin, Germany. This year’s focus was on “Research as Basis for Efficient Tuberculosis Control”. The scientific programme included a keynote lecture on the “Strategies towards Tuberculosis Control” by Professor Stefan H.E. Kaufmann of the Max Planck Institute and four sessions dedicated to diagnostics, therapy, prevention and implications for TB control. Dr. Richard O’Brien, FIND Head of Product Development, chaired the session on diagnostics and delivered a presentation on “Novel Diagnostic Test Systems in the Pipeline”. The sessions were followed by a roundtable discussion chaired by Professor Robert Loddenkemper and poster presentations.
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