Training session helps former Soviet countries tackle multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

	Participants at the Tomsk training, June 2008

The training seminar was entitled “Treatment of Patients with MDR-TB,” and was part of the global struggle against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). It brought together TB doctors employed in Russia and 10 countries of the former Soviet Union. The training was carried out jointly with Partners In Health, the Tuberculosis Office of Tomsk Oblast, UFSIN the Tomsk Oblast State Penitentiary System, and with financial support from the Eli Lilly Foundation.

Forty-eight tuberculosis specialists took part in the training, representing Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, as well as several regions of the Russian Federation.

As for lecturers, specialists were invited from the non-profit organization Partners In Health, Harvard Medical School, and local clinical project staff in Tomsk.

During the seminars, participants were instructed by Russian and international experts on proper treatment of patients with MDR-TB. Participants also took part in case-based clinical discussions and shared best practices. Additionally, there were organized visits to TB hospitals including LIU-1, UFSIN, Tomsk Oblast Clinical Tuberculosis Hospitals, and Tomsk Oblast civilian tuberculosis clinics, where participants of the seminar familiarized themselves with the work of local experts.

On completion of the training course Dr. Edward Nardell, a professor at Harvard Medical School and Albert Tigranovich Adamyan, Director of the Department of Public Health of Tomsk Oblast, presented certificates to all the participants, as well as training materials on CDs and guidelines for the treatment of patients with MDR-TB, so that all participants can easily access this crucial information to aid them in their fight against MDR-TB.

[posted June 2008]