Asymptomatic TB Transmission, Infectiousness, and Immunology

Drs. David Horne, associate professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) and Thomas Hawn, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) are MPIs on a newly awarded R01 funded by NIAID, “Asymptomatic TB Transmission, Infectiousness, and Immunology.”

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death due to an infectious agent. Progress in controlling the TB epidemic has fallen short of milestones and new strategies for TB control are urgently needed. Asymptomatic TB, defined as microbiological evidence of TB in people without symptoms, has recently been recognized as common and likely a significant source of M. tuberculosis transmission. 

Interrupting the transmission chain requires the early diagnosis and treatment of persons with TB, including those with asymptomatic TB. 

With colleagues from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, this grant will support Nairobi-based investigations into asymptomatic TB including infectiousness, household and community transmission, natural history, and host mechanisms associated with different TB outcomes.