Chairs: Prof. Dr Raquel Duarte (Porto, Portugal), Prof. Dr Christoph Lange (Borstel, Germany)
Speaker: Prof. Dr Tony Ye Hu (New Orleans, United States)

Fees: Free for ERS members and non-members
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Overview

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the top causes of infectious disease mortality worldwide. Conventional TB diagnostics rely heavily on sputum-based assays, which are suboptimal or infeasible in several key populations, including children, people living with HIV (PLHIV), and those with extrapulmonary TB. These limitations delay diagnosis, reduce sensitivity in paucibacillary disease, and hinder timely treatment. Emerging technologies, such as CRISPR-based detection of circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell-free DNA (Mtb-cfDNA) in blood, offer promising alternatives. This webinar addresses the urgent need to familiarise healthcare professionals and researchers with these innovations and their practical applications.

Educational aims:

• To describe the clinical and operational limitations of sputum-based TB diagnostics.
• To present emerging sputum-free technologies.
• To discuss the diagnostic accuracy and potential for early TB detection in vulnerable populations.
• To explore the integration of these tools into TB programmes and clinical workflows.
• To highlight the role of sputum-free diagnostics in treatment monitoring and mortality risk stratification.

Topics:

• Challenges and limitations of sputum-based TB diagnostics
• Emerging sputum-free diagnostic techniques (e.g. saliva- and blood-based tests)
• Application of CRISPR-based TB diagnostics
• Field implementation and validation in high-burden settings
• Potential for integration into existing TB programs
• Future directions in TB diagnostic innovation

Format

One-hour webinar format: 45 minutes for presentation, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session.

Learning outcomes

Following this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify the limitations of traditional sputum-based TB diagnostics.
• Describe at least two innovative, sputum-free diagnostic approaches for TB.
• Evaluate the potential clinical and public health impact of implementing these novel methods.
• Integrate knowledge of emerging diagnostics into clinical decision-making and research planning.
• Advocate for improved TB diagnostic tools within their institutions or regions.

CME credit

An application for accreditation of this webinar has been made to the European Board for Accreditation in Pneumology (EBAP) for 1 CME credit per 1-hour attendance. If accredited, the CME credit will be granted upon attendance of at least 60 minutes during the live webinar only.

What is a webinar?

A webinar closely simulates a lecture-based teaching experience. The speaker can interact with the audience, just as in a classroom setting. During the webinar, you will be asked to share your opinion on issues related to the topic using interactive polls.

All participants will be able to hear the lecturer and see the slides throughout the presentation. As a participant you will be able to pose questions or discuss ideas with the other participants via the text chat facility and the speaker will respond to the questions via the microphone.

Login guidelines

More information will be communicated in due course.

• Please log in to the webinar 20 minutes before it is scheduled to commence. If you have any technical difficulties whilst trying to log in or during the session please contact e-learning@ersnet.org.
• Check Central European Summer Time.
• To achieve the best quality, we recommend to avoid downloading anything from the internet during your connection to the lecture and stopping all other programmes.
• Please also ensure that your audio settings are not set to mute and adjust the volume to a comfortable level.

About UNITE4TB

UNITE4TB is a public-private partnership with representation from academic institutions, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public organisations, and pharmaceutical companies. The 7-year, €185 million project aims to accelerate and improve the clinical evaluation of combinations of existing and novel drugs, with the goal of developing new and highly active Tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimens for drug-resistant and drug-sensitive TB. For more information, visit the consortium website: www.unite4TB.org

Funding

The UNITE4TB project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 101007873. The JU receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA, Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung e. V. (DZIF), and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). EFPIA/AP contribute to 50% of funding, whereas the contribution of DZIF and the LMU University Hospital Munich has been granted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. For further information: www.imi.europa.eu

Disclaimer

This communication reflects the author's view. Neither IMI nor the European Union, EFPIA, or any Associated Partners are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.