On Inaugural World Bronchiectasis Day, International Lung Health Organizations Raise Awareness

Members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) note the growing number of cases worldwide.

JULY 1, 2022 – In support of the first World Bronchiectasis Day, July 1, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies, is joining the COPD Foundation and several global organizations in raising awareness and sharing information about this lesser-known lung disease.

Bronchiectasis is a lung disease that affects hundreds of thousands of children and adults worldwide. In this illness the airways become enlarged or scarred, making it difficult to clear mucus properly, leading to recurring lung infections. Symptoms include frequent coughing (often with thick, discolored mucus), sputum production, breathlessness, repeat chest infections, increased tiredness, unexplained fever, chills, sweats and weight loss, and chest pain.

Bronchiectasis is often misdiagnosed as pneumonia, but it is a chronic illness and one that places a burden on patients and their families. It can lead to impaired lung function, long-term disability, and premature death.  While bronchiectasis is often referred to as a rare disease, it is common in low and middle-income countries and prevalence is increasing globally.  In children, especially those in poor communities, bronchiectasis may occur following a lower respiratory tract infection, such as whooping cough or adenovirus infection, or pneumonia. Prevention of respiratory infections by immunization, promotion of good nutrition and reduction of exposure to smoke and other harmful particulates can help prevent bronchiectasis. Although there is currently no cure, detecting and treating bronchiectasis early can improve quality of life and improve long term health.

To be recognized annually on July 1, World Bronchiectasis Day aims to raise global awareness of the disease and help those diagnosed with it and others who may be vulnerable through education, advocacy, and a global conversation focused on reducing the burden of bronchiectasis for patients and their families worldwide.

“By participating in World Bronchiectasis Day, partners are helping to increase global awareness of this disease, which significantly impacts patients and their families,” said Ruth Tal-Singer, President & CEO of the COPD Foundation and World Bronchiectasis Day founding partner.  “Although there is currently no cure for bronchiectasis, proper disease management, global education, and advocacy can reduce the burden on patients and help to identify others who are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.”

“I’m proud of the FIRS involvement in raising awareness for bronchiectasis. This is something I work with every day, but it’s not one of the more common lung diseases. Because it is lesser known, patients often experience delays in diagnosis when they present with symptoms,” said Doreen J. Addrizzo-Harris, MD, FCCP, President-Elect for the American College of Chest Physicians, Professor of Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Director of the NYU Bronchiectasis and NTM Program. “With increased awareness comes quicker diagnoses and dedicated research which can lead to better treatment options and improved patient care.”

Living with bronchiectasis can be an isolating experience, as a member of the European Lung Foundation’s Bronchiectasis Patient Advisory Group explains: “Almost everyone knows what asthma is but to explain bronchiectasis is not that easy – so I normally never do that and just say I have a lung disease. It was really difficult to find a lung physician who had real knowledge of bronchiectasis.” Annette Posthumus, the Netherlands.

This year’s World Bronchiectasis Day will focus on raising awareness for the disease, with the following years focusing on treatment and the search for a cure.

About World Bronchiectasis Day
World Bronchiectasis Day, July 1, 2022, aims to raise global awareness of bronchiectasis and help those with the disease and others yet to be diagnosed through education, advocacy, and a global conversation focused on reducing the burden of bronchiectasis for patients and their families worldwide. To learn more about bronchiectasis and to support annual World Bronchiectasis Day, visit www.worldbronchiectasisday.org.

 About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

World Bronchiectasis Day Media Contact

Carol Johnson, Sr. Director of Communications & Marketing

World Bronchiectasis Day Committee

COPD Foundation and Bronchiectasis and NTM 360

1-786-749-7104 cjohnson@copdfoundation.org

On World No Tobacco Day (May 31, 2022) the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, is voicing concerns over the tobacco industry’s impact on environmental health and ultimately lung health.

The impact of tobacco production has been emphasized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of this year’s World No Tobacco Day theme: #Tobacco Exposed. The WHO notes that 600,000,000 trees are chopped down to make cigarettes, 84,000,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions are released into the air, which raises global temperatures, and 22,000,000,000 litres of water are used each year to make cigarettes. These are significant examples of the burden tobacco production places on environmental resources.

Manufacturing processes of tobacco are only one part of the issue, with distribution, consumption and post-consumption waste increasing the threat to the environment.

According to Prof. Jonathan Grigg, Chair of the European Respiratory Society’s Tobacco Control Committee:

“Tobacco kills more than 8 million people per year. It harms the environment in countless ways, but we see time and time again the tobacco industry trying to mislead or distort the significant threat their industry presents to our environment. It is very important that they are held accountable and that the realities of their business are not disguised by tactics developed to show them in a better light.”

This strategy of repositioning is not new in the tobacco industry. In January 2022, FIRS issued a statement in response to the authorised takeover of the Vectura Group, a pharmaceutical company producing inhaled medicines, by Phillip Morris International, a tobacco company.

“The takeover of Vectura by Phillip Morris was a huge disappointment and another example of blurring lines and repositioning. Here we see a company which produces tobacco – synonymous with negative effects on health, diversifying into healthcare. The potential implications are of great concern.” stated Grigg.

Alongside a call for the tobacco industry to be held accountable for its role in harming the environment, FIRS urges everyone to stay well informed about tobacco industry practices. FIRS supports the message that we should all strive to be greener and to stop smoking – and help others to stop smoking – to improve our health and the health of our planet.

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

Closing Gaps in Asthma Care; World Asthma Day 2022

On this World Asthma Day, May 3, 2022, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, calls on international respiratory communities to work together with colleagues, patients, communities and health care providers to close the gaps in asthma care.

Although asthma cannot be cured, it is possible to control symptoms and reduce or prevent asthma attacks or exacerbations.

There are key gaps in care which require intervention to reduce preventable suffering, as well as the costs incurred from uncontrolled asthma.

In addition to unequal access to diagnosis and treatment, current gaps in asthma care include:

• unequal care between different socio-economic groups, populations, and ages
• in access and affordability of recommended inhaled medication globally
• in communication and care across the primary/secondary/tertiary care
• in education for people with asthma and quality of asthma care plans
• in asthma knowledge and awareness between health care providers
• between scientific evidence and actual delivery of care for people with asthma.

Global Initiative for Asthma’s (GINA) regularly updated and evidence-based strategy documents can help to address these disparities. However, implementing recommendations based on scientific evidence is challenging – not all local solutions are applicable globally and global recommendations may not be applicable locally. So, this year, the challenge is for international respiratory communities to work together to identify and close the gaps in asthma care, and to help implement and share innovative solutions locally and globally.

 Find out more about World Asthma Day awareness-raising activities at www.ginasthma.org.

The American Thoracic Society provides patient fact sheets on asthma treatment as well as other respiratory disorders.

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally through its 70,000+ members.

 FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

Breathing in science to eliminate TB

In support of World TB Day, 24 March, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, calls on the tuberculosis (TB) community to challenge ourselves to think differently, champion science and embrace evidence-based innovation if we are to end TB.

We have made great strides towards eliminating TB over the last 100 years.

The progress made to date has only been possible because of our commitment to research and innovation. While it is important to reflect on our achievements, we must continue to advance our knowledge through research and implement it into policy and practice. For the elimination of TB, this means:

• Prioritising active identification and treatment of everyone with TB to prevent transmission of the infectious disease.
• Using of the latest technological advances at our disposal – digital communications, imaging, and diagnostic tools.
• Undertaking clinical, public health and operational research to create knowledge for action.
• Involving communities and motivating them to embrace the concept of eliminating TB.
• Challenging TB inequity globally – we can no longer accept that people in low- and middle-income countries are, every day, infected, becoming sick and dying with TB, while people in high-income countries are unaware that TB still exists.

With deaths increasing for the first time in over a decade – 1.5 million deaths in 2020 – TB must be treated as an emergency. Which is why we call on world leaders to keep the promises they made at the UN High-Level Meeting 2018 and #InvestToEndTB.

Despite the limited funding (in particular when compare with COVID-19), there have been significant TB research triumphs in the past decade, such as:

• Molecular tests make diagnosis possible in less than two hours, rather than 2–4 weeks
• Treatment of multidrug-resistant TB has been shortened from two years of toxic, injectable agents to six months of an all-oral regimen
• Treatment of TB infection has been cut from nine months to as short as 1–3 months with safer and better tolerated regimens

These breakthroughs are testament to our commitment to science. In order to make the next great breakthrough in TB elimination we must nurture an environment where evidence-based innovation can flourish. It will be challenging to sustain such an environment given the current hardships we are facing globally, including the millions of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

These times of unrest provide good conditions for TB and other lung diseases to run rampant. We must, however, remain positive and challenge ourselves to think differently, champion science and embrace evidence-based innovation to end TB.

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies’ statement of support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as the unfolding humanitarian disaster created by Russia’s invasion continues. We are deeply concerned about the impact on the health and wellbeing of communities in Ukraine and pledge our strong support to frontline workers, affected members, partner organisations, and the 1,7 million people who have had to flee their homes.
The displacement of thousands of people and the barrage of shelling that damages sanitation and health infrastructures create a humanitarian crisis with devastating health consequences, including exacerbating respiratory diseases that have already escalated due to COVID-19.
Ukrainian doctors and nurses have to postpone other care to focus on treating the wounded, despite the desperate shortages of essential hospital supplies, medicines and healthcare staff. WHO has warned that dangerously low oxygen reserves make it difficult to treat severe respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and growing numbers of patients with COVID-19.
Compounding the risk to patients, critical hospital services are also jeopardized by power shortages, and ambulances transporting patients are in danger of getting caught in the crossfire. Thousands of lives are at risk.
As we witness the escalation of atrocities, we call on our members and the wider respiratory community to support humanitarian aid initiatives for the Ukrainian people wherever possible.
Our FIRS partner, the European Respiratory Society, has collated a list of initiatives giving support to refugees, providing medical aid packages, supporting paramedics and doctors on the front line, and offering emergency responses to children.
Please consider supporting one or more of these active humanitarian aid initiatives:
• International Committee of the Red Cross
• Ukraine Humanitarian Fund – United Nations
• UNICEF – Emergency support to conflict in eastern Ukraine
• UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
• International Medical Corps
• Polish Medical Mission
Links to external sources of medical advice can be found in the ERS disaster medicine resource.
Alongside this call for support, the European Respiratory Society is currently taking steps to suspend collaborations with Russian and Belarusian societies.
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

World’s Respiratory Societies Support Community Action and Education for Lung Cancer Awareness Day

Cape Town, Glenview, Lausanne, Montevideo, New York, Paris, and Tokyo

August 1, 2021 – In support of World Lung Cancer Day on August 1, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, stresses the importance of community action and early screening to prevent and treat lung cancer

Responsible for 25% of all cancer deaths, lung cancer remains a topic for concern. According to the World Health Organization, each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and liver cancers combined. Worldwide, in 2020, there were 2.21 million new cases of lung cancer and 1.80 million deaths. Despite these alarming statistics, the rate of lung cancer is dropping because of tobacco cessation efforts.

World Lung Cancer Day is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness for people affected by lung cancer and also effective ways for its prevention, the most important being tobacco cessation. Eliminating tobacco use is the number one way to reduce lung cancer cases. Community can play an important role through education around preventable risk factors for lung cancer and the importance of early detection to most effectively treat lung cancer.

To reduce the prevalence of lung cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends community action and education including:

• Public education around lung cancer risk factors
• Reducing minors’ access to tobacco products and e-cigarettes
• Helping people quit using tobacco products
• Helping people avoid secondhand smoke
• Reducing exposure to radon
• Encouraging people to be screened for lung cancer as recommended

In addition to tobacco cessation, access to screening and early detection is vital for reducing lung cancer deaths through early detection and treatment. If lung cancer is found at an early stage, when it is small and before it has spread, it is more likely to be successfully treated.
Lung cancer screening with a low-dose tomography (also known as low-dose CT or LDCT) scan is recommended for at risk people to detect the earliest stages of lung cancer before symptoms occur. The American Cancer Society recommends that all current or former smokers and those over the age of 55 consider seeking a low-dose CT scan screening to potentially detect lung cancer in its earliest stages.

When they present, lung cancer symptoms include change in mucus, chest or back pain, coughing up blood and difficulty swallowing. Timely and equitable access to health care for assessment and treatment is vital.

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS): The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally: American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally. For more information about FIRS, please contact Lisa Roscoe lisa.roscoe@firsnet.org.

Global respiratory groups join WHO, calling on world leaders to act on the commitments made to end TB.

In support of World TB Day, 24 March, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, joins the World Health Organisation (WHO) campaign urging governments to act on the commitments made to end TB.

TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers. According to the WHO each day, nearly 4000 lose their lives to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease, this equates to 1.5 million deaths and 10 million people falling ill to TB each year.

Despite significant progress against TB in recent years, 3 million people with TB disease are still undiagnosed. 1 in 3 people with TB do not access quality care for reasons ranging from gaps in research and development and insufficient or underfunded health services, to long and difficult treatments or because of stigma. In addition, a quarter of the world’s population is estimated to be living with TB infection, the bacteria that causes the disease. People with TB infection are estimated to have a 5-10 percent chance of developing the disease over their lifetime but TB preventive therapy reduces a person’s risk of developing active TB by 60 to 90 percent.

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals targets and the United Nations High-Level Meeting commitments by 2030 and 2022 respectively, governments must accelerate their investments and actions to ensure access to quality TB prevention and care.

FIRS calls for urgent action to advance TB prevention through rapid scale up of access to preventive treatment for TB infection for those most at risk of falling ill of TB including:

• Four million children under five years of age
• 20 million other household contacts of people affected by TB
• Six million people living with HIV and AIDS.

“Time is running out. Globally, we are falling short of the target to provide at least 30 million people with TB preventive treatment by 2022.” said Mark Cohen, President of FIRS. “We are at a critical time, as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot put End TB progress at risk.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the world aware of how deadly respiratory viruses can be. We have seen how public health and political will can be mobilised quickly and it’s time for us to treat TB as the emergency that it is.

Find out more about the WHO 2021 World TB Day campaign.

Congratulations to Kevin Mortimer and other GOLD contributors on today’s print release of the new Lancet article discussing lung health in low-income and middle-income countries. We hope this helps to further the important discussion of meaningful solutions to improve chronic respiratory diseases, as well as health equity to reduce morbidity and mortality worldwide.

Click here for a free download of this article!

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies, calls for urgent access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines globally.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than 72 million people worldwide and resulted in more than 1.6 million deaths to date. No country has been spared, and throughout the world this pandemic has placed a huge burden on health systems and on economies. Many countries are now experiencing a second wave of infections, which are more severe than the first initial wave. The elderly and those with underlying vulnerabilities including diabetes, chronic lung or heart disease, hypertension, obesity or immunosuppression are at higher risk for developing severe disease.

Incredibly, less than a year after the start of the pandemic, effective, safe vaccines are now being approved for emergency use and some countries have already started vaccinating their citizens. The rapid development and authorisation of these vaccines must be accompanied by close monitoring for further guidance and optimal use. However, roll out of vaccines is currently predominantly in high-income countries. There is an urgent need for affordable vaccines to be made available in low- and middle-income countries, especially as there may be limited access to health care and to life saving supportive therapy including oxygen in these settings.

“Now is a critical time in the fight against COVID-19. We need to ensure affordable, equitable access, transparency and fair distribution of approved vaccines to protect people in all countries.” said Stephanie Levine, MD President of FIRS. “This pandemic has affected people around the world and we now need a global effort to ensure that all countries can access preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic measures to beat it.”

FIRS is comprised of: American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health globally through the combined work of its more than 100,000 members.

For more information about FIRS please visit firsnet.org or contact Lisa Roscoe lisa.roscoe@firsnet.org.

To Meet HIV World Health Goals, TB Treatment Must be Maintained During COVID-19 Response

1 December 2020— The global COVID-19 pandemic has strained health care systems around the world. In the developing world, tuberculosis (TB), which shares several symptoms with COVID-19, is often the first sign that a person has HIV. This World AIDS Day, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, is calling on governments, health advocates and non-government organisations to strengthen their response to AIDS and tuberculosis, and to ensure that TB services are maintained throughout their response to COVID-19.

TB is the leading cause of death among those with HIV/AIDS worldwide, accounting for about one in three deaths, according to the 2020 UNAIDS Global Update. Yet, 60 percent of people living with HIV and tuberculosis are unaware of their co-infection and therefore not receiving the care that could prevent serious illness and death, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“Patients who are HIV positive remain at high risk for TB, and as the world directs its attention to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, it is it critical that TB programs continue to detect and treat cases,” said Juan C. Celedón, MD, DrPH, ATSF, President of American Thoracic Society, a FIRS founding member. “When treated with preventative therapy, latent TB can be managed, reducing the chance of death from AIDS and TB by about 40 percent.”

Shortly after AIDS emerged, it fuelled a global resurgence of TB that continues in many low- and middle-income countries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV infection is the strongest risk factor for progressing from latent to active TB.

COVID-19 presents another challenge, as the symptoms are similar to TB and patients can become ill with both diseases. According to the WHO, experience with COVID-19 infection in TB patients remains limited but people ill with both TB and COVID-19 may have poorer treatment outcomes, especially if TB treatment is interrupted. HIV also increases the risk of other infectious respiratory diseases, including Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia, both of which can be life threatening.

Since the AIDS epidemic began, the WHO estimates that 75.7 million people have become infected with HIV and 32.7 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

Education, prevention strategies and new medicines, particularly antiretroviral therapies, have reduced the number of AIDS deaths by 60 percent per year since their global peak in 2004.

Still, UNAIDS estimates that in 2019, 38 million people were living with AIDS and about 1.7 million people became newly infected.

FIRS believes a global response to HIV/AIDS can be strengthened by:

• Increasing awareness of the continuing global threat of HIV-related disease and its link to TB and other respiratory diseases.
• Improving the health outcomes of people living with HIV through patient care and research into improved treatments and treatment strategies for both HIV and TB.
• Reducing the incidence and severity of HIV-related disease by strengthening mother-to-child transmission prevention programs and increasing the early use of antiretroviral therapy.
• Improving HIV education in at-risk communities to reduce the incidence of new HIV infections.
• Reducing HIV-related health disparities and inequities.

“As the global medical community responds to COVID-19, it must also continue to strengthen its response to HIV/AIDS, as well as TB prevention and treatment,” said Dr. Celedón. “Not long ago, HIV/AIDS and TB seemed insurmountable, yet HIV/AIDS is now a manageable chronic illness thanks to antiretroviral therapies, and TB is preventable and curable if treated appropriately. As a result, the WHO has set a goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The progress we have made against HIV/AIDS and TB should serve as an inspiration for medical systems dealing with COVID-19, as proof that epidemics can be managed.”

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS)

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world’s leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally: American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana De Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

For more information about FIRS please contact Lisa Roscoe lisa.roscoe@firsnet.org