TB Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit

Services provided

Consultancies

• Weyer K. WHO Consultancy on drug resistant TB in Malawi. May 2007.
• Van der Walt. WHO Consultancy on drug resistant TB in Swaziland. March 2007.
• Weyer K, Van der Walt ML. Global Task Force on XDR-TB. Expert consultation on drug-resistant tuberculosis, September 2006.
• Lancaster J.  Aurum Consultancy on tuberculin skin testing and quality assurance, Welkom, September 2005.
• Lancaster J.  CDC Consultancy on tuberculin skin testing and quality assurance, Botswana, August 2005.
• Weyer K.  WHO Consultancy on Laboratory Capacity Strengthening, Tanzania, June 2005.
• Lancaster J.  CDC Consultancy on tuberculin skin testing and quality assurance, Botswana, August 2005.
• Brand J, Blumberg L.  Assessment Of Laboratory Capacity And Expertise At The National Reference Laboratory, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania.  WHO Consultancy, November 2003.

Participation in health policy development

• Van der Walt M. Contribution to Guidelines to the Department of Health: Decentralised Management of Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis – a policy framework for South Africa. Appendix II: Building treatment capacity to meet the increasing burden of MDR-TB. 2010.
• Weyer K. Convenor of International Expert Consultation on Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis. South Africa: 7-8 September 2006 (Joint consultation by MRC, WHO and CDC).
• Weyer K.  WHO Consultancy on Laboratory Capacity Strengthening, Tanzania, June 2005.
• Van der Walt ML, Coetzee G. Algorithm for screening of MDR TB among suspects. July 2008.

Science communication and research translation

• Van der Walt ML. Upper room ultraviolet air disinfection shown to reduce transmission of multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis under South African hospital conditions.
• Van der Walt ML. XDR-TB to be tackled extensively. March 2008.
• Van der Walt. Rapid tests for drug-resistant TB to be made available in developing countries. 30 June 2008.
• Karin Weyer, Margot Uys. Comprehensive TB-HIV care programme gains momentum -‘THAT’S IT’ launches in Eastern & Western Cape. 28 May 2008.
• Weyer K, Uys M. Comprehensive TB-HIV care programme launched-‘THAT’S IT’ rolls out to North West. March 2007.
• K Weyer, Van der Walt. FIND, the SAMRC and NHLS seal MOU to begin trial of two new tests for MDR-TB in South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa and Geneva, Switzerland, 12 March 2007.
• Weyer K, Van der Walt ML. Seven point emergency action plan to combat XDR-TB issued by global health agencies
• Weyer K. Detention of patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). Position Statement by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
• Weyer K.  Position Statement by the South African Medical Research Council on Enforced Quarantine of Patients with Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis. January 2007.
• Weyer K on behalf of the WHO Global XDR-TB Task Force.  Position Statement on the Need for a Revised Definition of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis XDR-TB).  October 2006 .
• Van der Walt M, Weyer, K, Kantor P. Legal Issues in the Management of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in South Africa. Pretoria. Medical Research Council, 2006 (MRC Policy Brief).
• ML van der Walt, K Weyer and the DOTS-Plus Group of South Africa. Me and my MDR-TB: A patient information pamphlet, 2005.

Training programmes

• Advanced TB Infection Control Course, Pretoria, 6 – 10 September, 2010 (ML van der Walt (MRC), P Jensen (CDC), M Mphahlele (MRC), A Stoltz (University of Pretoria), G Gaotlolwe (Dept of Building and Engineering Services, Botswana), N Turusbekova (KNCV, Netherlands).
• Training programme on M(X)DR for Clinicians in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, 1 – 2 October 2009 (ML van der Walt, N Ndjeka (DoH)).
• CDC/MRC Epi-Info Workshop, 24 – 28 August 2009 (J Lancaster, R Odendaal, J Ershova (CDC).
• MDR-TB Best Practices Workshop – Gauteng – 26 – 29 October 2009.
• 40 Years of TB – A Colloquium. From 3 – 4 June 2009 MRC, Cape Town.
• Training course on Infection Control in high burden TB/HIV settings, 2006-07, Botswana, 2007 (P Jensen, K Weyer, S Parsons)
  Two two-and-a half day course consisting of two days of classroom lectures and discussions and half a day of practical work at a local health facility in Gaborone.. The target audience includes infection control nurses/officers, engineers, facility managers, TB programme managers, occupational health practitioners and environmental health practitioners.
• Training course on Infection Control in high burden TB/HIV settings, 2006-07
  (P Jensen, K Weyer, E Nkhi, S Parsons)
  A two-an- a half day course consisting of two days of classroom lectures and discussions and half a day of practical work at a local health facility. The target audience includes infection control nurses/officers, engineers, facility managers, TB programme managers, occupational health practitioners and environmental health practitioners.
• International Internet Training Course on Management MDR Tuberculosis (2006)
  (K Weyer)
  15-module internet-based international training course on management of MDR-TB, developed under contract with the World Medical Association, to be launched on World TB Day, 24 March 2007.
• Training Course on TB Drug Susceptibility Testing (annually)
  Two-week training course on practical and theoretical aspects of TB drug susceptibility testing, laboratory safety and laboratory management.  Attended by laboratory technologists from African countries and formally recognised by WHO.
• International Internet Training Course on Management of Tuberculosis (2005)
  12-module internet-based international training course on management of MDR-TB, developed under contract with the World Medical Association, to be launched at the 36th World Conference on Lung Health of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France.  October 2005. K Weyer.
• Training Course on Management of MDR-TB in South Africa (annually)
  6-module training course on standardised MDR-TB management in SA, adopted by the Department of Health and CPD-accredited, K Weyer.
• Training Course on Essential Epidemiological Methods for TB Operational Research in SA (2002), K Weyer.
• International Training Course on Epidemiological Research Methods and Field Testing of TB Drug Quality (2002)
  2-day international training course held in collaboration with CDC, USA to develop TB operational research capacity in TB control Programmes in SADC.  Attended by National TB Managers from 11 SADC countries.  Course Manual developed for future international use.

Consultancies and representation on technical committees

• SANAC HIV TB Integration Working Group (2009)
• WHO Consultancy on drug resistant TB in Swaziland. (2007).
• Global Task Force on XDR-TB. Expert consultation on drug-resistant tuberculosis, September 2006.
• Stakeholders Alliance of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (2008-).
• Member of the WHO Green-Light Committee (GLC) (2007).
• Water Research Commission
• WHO Stop TB Partnership Working Groups (New diagnostics, MDR-TB)

Audio productions

Podcasts and articles

• http://audio.mrc.ac.za/stream/src/m3u/Tuberculosis-DrMartie-March2009-Part1.mp3
• http://audio.mrc.ac.za/stream/src/m3u/Tuberculosis-DrMartie-March2009-Part2.mp3
• http://audio.mrc.ac.za/stream/src/m3u/Tuberculosis-DrMartie-March2009-Part3.mp3

Accompanying article

• More TB, more research - World TB Day 2009

Radio interviews

• RadioSonderGrense 24 March “Statistiek en Navorsing”           
  Translated “Statistics and research”
• MedFM 29 June 2009 “Tuberculose, navorsing en behandeling”
  Translated “TB, research and treatment”

Consultancies

• WHO Review TB Control Program’, July 2009-10-16
• DoH Review of MDR-TB practices in South Africa, June 2009.

Conferences

• Organising Committee, 2nd TB Conference, Durban, 1 – 4 June 2010, Durban, South Africa.
• Organising Committee, IOM Meeting, March 3 – 4, Pretoria, South Africa.
• 40 Years of TB – A Colloquium. From 3 – 4 June 2009 MRC, Cape Town.
• Organising Committee, 2nd National TB Conference, June 2010
• Organising Committee, US Institute of Medicine Meeting, February 2010, South Africa
• DoH Global Fund Round 10 Writing Committee

Review Protocals

• MRC
• NRF

Review Manuscript

• SA Water

Awards

• ML van der Walt: Finalist in the 2009/10 NSTF Awards Category - Research and its Outputs (over the last 5 to 10 yrs or less).