Human population growth and urbanization have accelerated dramatically in recent centuries, providing unprecedented opportunities for microbes that use our bodies as vehicles for their own propagation and transmission. These conditions have led to the emergence of virulent new pathogens and the increased prevalence of "classic" scourges, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This tenacious microbe is transmitted via infectious aerosols produced by individuals with pulmonary tuberculosis....

Wafaa El-Sadr is an Infectious Disease Physician introducing multi-pronged treatment strategies for some of the most pressing pandemics of our time – HIV/AIDS and TB – diseases that often afflict people with the least access to quality health care. MacArthur Fellowships offer the opportunity for Fellows to accelerate their current activities or take their work in new directions. The unusual level of independence afforded to Fellows underscores the spirit of freedom...

Note: Once this publication is available in PubMed Central the XML version will become available to connect figures and data. For now, for the full text and figures, please refer to the paper available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050124 Abstract: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria, are still responsible for the greatest burden of morbidity and mortality [1]. However, non-communicable diseases...

The American Society for Microbiology is helping African nations foster a scientific community that is better able to address the current and future problems that threaten not only the local population, but the world at large. Like many African countries, Zambia and South Africa are deeply affected by HIV and tuberculosis, as well as a number of other infectious diseases. In March of 2008, ASM President Cliff Houston, Ph.D., traveled to Zambia and South Africa to gauge and assess the...

In an interview about his forthcoming paper, Donald Enarson (from The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease in Paris) discusses how the DOTS paradigm could be adapted for controlling diseases such as diabetes in resource-poor countries.