New TB research group that includes U of A looks for root causes

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Experts in diverse fields such as genetics, anthropology and epidemiology have formed a consortium dedicated to bringing new strategies to the fight against tuberculosis.


It's a grand goal, and the effort is in its early stages, but members of the group say its approach is different enough from typical medical research that it could someday provide customized treatments for TB sufferers.

They say that's necessary to treat a complex bacterial disease that kills about 2 million people a year and has nine or 10 different strains, some of which are causing worldwide alarm because they are resistant to currently available antibiotics.

"We are clearly in a very crucial stage of tuberculosis control," said Phil Griffin, director of tuberculosis control for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. "With the emergence of new strains, our tools for fighting it are getting very old."

The consortium involves about 30 researchers from the University of Kansas; the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research; the University of Arizona; the University of Texas-El Paso; the Texas Department of State Health Services; the state of Kansas, and Chihuahua University Medical School and Public Health Service in Mexico.

The International Consortium for the Study of Tuberculosis will focus on the DNA of populations with high rates of the disease, the genetics of the various strains of tuberculosis and environmental factors affecting high-risk populations.

While the disease has been largely eradicated in the U.S., the recent case of Andrew Speaker, who flew to several countries before being hospitalized in Colorado with extremely drug-resistant TB, has brought the disease back into the national consciousness.

But members of the consortium say their main concern is an influx of immigrants from countries where the disease has not been eradicated, such as Mexico, China and Somalia. The problem is especially acute along the U.S.-Mexico border, and in states like Kansas that have growing immigrant populations.

"People are very, very concerned that our whole medical system is being threatened," said Michael Crawford, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Kansas who is directing the consortium. "The real fear is that we could have a pandemic at some point."

While some consortium members will study populations with high rates of tuberculosis _ including their genetic makeup, family structure and environmental factors such as malnutrition or smoking _ others will be working in laboratories to unlock the genome of the disease itself.

They want to know why only about 10 percent of those who are infected with TB get the disease.

"The central question is 'Why?'" Crawford said. "Why do some people handle the disease and some die from it very, very quickly?"

The group's pilot project will focus on TB patterns among the Tarahumara, a native Indian tribe in northern Mexico with high rates of the disease. Members from the U.S. and Mexico have met to discuss the project and plan another meeting in August.

Results from that study may help Texas and Arizona officials battle high rates of TB in Mexico, which has been a concern for years along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Luis Escobedo, an epidemiologist in El Paso and director of the health services region of the Texas health department, said Texas needs new tools to help people with TB.

"If we continue to just work with what we know, we may not be able to keep up with all the things happening with TB," Escobedo said.

Immunologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, anthropologists and public health officials may find new strategies because they bring expertise different from most physicians, Crawford said.

"Physicians want to treat the symptoms," he said. "We're more interested in understanding how the system works. Then as we understand how the system works, we can more intelligently apply methods of treatment, diagnosis, etc."

For now, the consortium is trying to attract more funding and to bring representatives from places such as Russia, India and Africa on board. The group has initial funding of about $16,000 from the University of Kansas and some funding from the Texas health department.

Crawford said group members will work on the Mexico project and training workshops while trying to develop the credentials and research to attract more funding. It hopes to receive funding from such groups as the National Institutes of Health or the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, which has donated millions to TB research.

The Speaker case shows susceptible everyone is to the disease, consortium members say. Some U.S. cases are misdiagnosed as pneumonia.

"The (Speaker) case was a good example of how, in today's world, where travel is so much easier, people can bring it in and out of the country very easily," Griffin said. "It's not something to run around and be panicked about, but we should all keep in our heads that it has not gone away."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.kvoa.com/global/story.asp?s=6738138

Here's a thought, CLOSE THE DAMN BORDER!!