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

On World Pneumonia Day, 12 November, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, calls for urgent progress to end the preventable burden of pneumonia and deaths.

Pneumonia is the single biggest infectious killer of adults and children – claiming the lives of 2.5 million, including 672,000 children, in 2019. Children under five years old and adults over 70 years make up 75 percent of pneumonia deaths. Most pneumonia deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the danger of pneumonia particularly in adults, with almost 47 million cases globally and 1.2 million deaths to date.

To help increase the visibility of pneumonia and to raise public awareness of its risks, FIRS has joined the World Pneumonia Awareness Campaign, Pneumolight. More than 216 iconic landmarks in 47 countries across the globe will light up blue to mark World Pneumonia Day. The event will shine a blue spotlight on this neglected yet leading killer of children.

Landmarks which will turn blue include: the King George Square in Brisbane, Australia; the Macau Tower in China; the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy; Niagara Falls in Canada; the Cibeles Fountain in Madrid; the National Library of Belarus; Milad – the highest tower in Iran; Olympic Tower in Munich, Germany; the Torch Doha in Qtar; the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada – the highest tower in North America and Table Mountain in South Africa.

FIRS President, Dr. Stephanie Levine, FIRS member the Pan African Thoracic Society President, Prof Joseph Aluoch, and past-President Prof Heather Zar will speak at the Global Conference for World Pneumonia Day, joining a diverse panel of more than 21 speakers from different organisations committed to fighting pneumonia.

To end the preventable burden of childhood pneumonia and deaths there is a need to:

• Raise awareness about pneumonia, the leading killer of young children.
• Strengthen, accelerate and sustain interventions to prevent and treat pneumonia.
• Focus on equitable access to, and delivery of comprehensive pneumonia prevention and control programs.
• Design specific strategies to reach the “harder-to reach” populations to improve their accessibility to available interventions.
• Conduct research to develop innovative strategies to reduce the burden of pneumonia.

Together, we can end preventable deaths from pneumonia.

FIRS calls upon governments, health care providers, researchers, funders and families to ensure:

• Improved, equitable and sustained access to effective pneumonia prevention and control interventions for all by all.
• Strengthened health systems that promptly and effectively deliver strategies to reduce pneumonia deaths including provision of effective antibiotics and oxygen delivery systems.
• Increased support for strategies to prevent pneumonia including immunisation, prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, provision of anti-retroviral therapy for HIV-infected children, reduction of exposure to tobacco and air pollution, and increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
• Support for research towards innovative diagnostic, prevention and treatment strategies.

If we do not take decisive action now, 11 million more children will die by 2030.

About the World Pneumonia Awareness Campaign, Pneumolight

To find out more about the World Pneumonia Awareness Campaign, Pneumolight, contact Catia Cillóniz on catiacilloniz@yahoo.com.

Join the Global Conference for World Pneumonia Day on November 12th, 2020, beginning at 16:00 CET and concluding at 20:00 CET by visiting the Pneumolight YouTube Channel.

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.

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World Lung Day 2020: Respiratory groups call for research to prevent, detect and treat respiratory infections

Cape Town, Glenview, Lausanne, Montevideo, New York, Paris, Tokyo, 25 September 2020

Today, on World Lung Day (WLD), GOLD is united with members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) and WLD partner organisations to advocate for respiratory health globally and call for more research to prevent, detect and treat respiratory infections.

In 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has made the world aware of how deadly respiratory viruses can be. In reality, respiratory infections have been with us for a very long time and will continue to be a major source of human suffering and death.

Apart from viruses, there are many other sources of respiratory infection that cause much human disease. These include bacteria, fungi and other organisms which may infect the upper airways (nose, sinuses and throat) and/or, more worryingly, the lower airways and lungs (such as bronchitis and or pneumonia).

They can cause lung symptoms such as cough, fast breathing, green sputum and breathlessness, as well as general symptoms such as fever, feeling ill and weight loss. Chest pain while breathing or coughing may also occur.

Respiratory infections impose an immense worldwide health burden:

• Each year almost 700,000 children die from pneumonia. 80 percent of deaths are in children under 2 years and adults above 65 years. Almost all deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.
• Each year there are 10 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) and 1.5 million deaths. Deaths from TB occur mostly in children under 5 years and adults in the 20-35 year age range. Over 95 percent of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
• Viral respiratory infections can occur in epidemics and spread rapidly within communities across the globe, to become global pandemics. COVID-19 is one such viral respiratory infection that has affected more than 25 million people worldwide and nearly 860,000 have died by the beginning of September 2020. The burden will continue to exponentially increase in the near future.

WLD is an annual lung health awareness day, occurring yearly on 25 September. To date nearly 200 organisations and many more individuals support WLD through lung heath advocacy and action. This year, with respiratory health firmly in the spotlight, it is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the burden of respiratory infections and call for:

• Health security and prevention of future COVID-19 outbreaks.
• Predictive tests to show who is immune and who will develop disease from novel infections.
• Diagnostic tests to identify and treat those at risk to progress once infected.
• High quality randomised controlled trials to find the best vaccines and treatments.
• Access to effective, affordable vaccines and treatments for all.
• Educating all on the benefits and safety of the Influenza and Pneumococcal vaccines, as well as the COVID-19 vaccine once developed.

To learn more about World Lung Day and download the fact sheet, graphics and pledge campaign go to the World Lung Day Toolkit.

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.

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Respiratory groups stress lung cancer risks and importance of early screening and treatment

Cape Town, Glenview, Lausanne, Montevideo, New York, Paris, Tokyo, 1 August 2020

In support of World Lung Cancer Day, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which GOLD is a founding member, calls for more awareness and understanding of lung cancer risk factors, as well as the importance of early screening and treatment.

Lung cancer is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 cancer deaths according to the World Health Organization. While lung cancer and breast cancer are diagnosed at the same rate (11.6 percent), lung cancer kills more people yearly than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. Lung cancer mortality is projected to reach 2.45 million by 2030, a 39 percent increase in just over a decade.

While most understand that smoking is the single greatest risk factor for lung cancer at 80 percent of all cases, other lesser known risk factors include the environment and genetics. Environmental exposure to radon, asbestos, arsenic, beryllium and uranium has been linked to lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer also increases with a history of cancer in another part of the body, age, family history, radiation to the chest area and lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Access to screening options and education is vital for early detection and treatment. Low-income countries, where survival rates are significantly below the average, report only a 15 percent availability of treatment through public health systems. More that 90 percent of high-income countries report vital access to care.

Lung cancer symptoms include change in mucus, chest or back pain, coughing up blood and difficulty swallowing. Tests that may be used to diagnose lung cancer include chest x-rays, CT and PET scans, bronchoscopy and needle biopsies. If you are a current or former smoker and over the age of 55, you may be a candidate for a low-dose CT scan screening that can potentially detect lung cancer in its earliest stages.

About 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.

Click here to read this year’s Lung Cancer Fact Sheet: World Lung Cancer Day 2020 Fact Sheet

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Special thank you to GOLD Science Committee member, Dr. Antonio Anzueto, for providing this great information on behalf of GOLD for Mediaplanet’s Lung Health campaign, out today! The campaign spotlighted organizations like GOLD that are working toward expanded access to treatments and new therapies shown to greatly enhance quality of life for the 35 million Americans affected by chronic lung disease. The campaign was distributed through USA TODAY on June 25^th, 2020 and is published online!

You Don’t Have to Let a COPD Diagnosis Stop You From Living

The full campaign can be viewed here!

https://www.futureofpersonalhealth.com/campaign/lung-health/

The World Health Organization (WHO) has produced a set of ‘Mythbusters’ relating to COVID-19, each with a graphic that can be downloaded and shared.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

6 December – A new report launched today calls policy-makers and political leaders to urgently implement cost-effective actions to achieve quick results for cleaner air.

Air pollution is a public health emergency, not only in Delhi, India but for 90 percent of us worldwide who live in areas of dangerous air pollution, which breach the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines. Measures to tackle air pollution deliver rapid results for health as well as co-benefits for the climate.

The report “Clean Air Now”, co-authored by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) of which GOLD is a founding member and the NCD Alliance (NCDA), is released today to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) taking place in Madrid (Spain) from 2^nd-13^th December 2019.

The report includes examples from every continent of measures taken to rapidly reduce air pollution, including in Olympic host cities, and shows how quickly benefits are realised for health. After the introduction of clean air measures, significant health benefits can be observed within just a few weeks, for example in reduced hospital admissions. Over the longer term, benefits of clear air measures include significant increased life expectancy, fewer premature births, fewer heart attacks, strokes, respiratory diseases and early deaths.

“We knew that controlling air pollution would result in better health, but the promptness of major benefits was surprising,” said Dean Schraufnagel, Executive Director of FIRS and lead author of the paper.

Nina Renshaw, Director of Policy and Advocacy at NCD Alliance added: “Governments everywhere should roll out clean air policies urgently to tackle this global health emergency. Measures to tackle pollution pay for themselves many times over, in terms of lives saved and reduced costs for our health services, and are also measures to prevent climate breakdown and worsening health impacts of an overheating planet.”

Air pollution penetrates and affects nearly every organ in the body, as well as our mental health and wellbeing. It is a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over seven million people die prematurely every year from exposure to polluted air. Most air pollution, and the associated health impacts and premature deaths, are preventable.

The report makes a series of recommendations, including:

• Adopt and strictly enforce emission standards for all pollutants in all relevant sectors, including industry, energy, transport, waste and agriculture.
• Include air quality measures in urban, rural and transport planning at city, regional and national level, including measures to encourage modal shift and active mobility, noting the additional benefits to health and wellbeing, the curbing of climate change, and the reduction of health inequalities.
• Rapidly phase our health-harmful subsidies for fossil fuels and polluting industries and introduce penalties for polluters and/or taxes on pollution.
• Redirect investment to health-promoting, accessible alternatives including clean transport and renewable energy, and towards the provision of universal health coverage.
• Improve housing conditions and ensure access to clean energy sources for indoor cooking, heating and lighting.