Stellenbosch’s Immunology Research Group releases a short video about TB in the times of COVID-19

When COVID-19 hit South Africa last spring and the country went into a strict lockdown, access to tuberculosis (TB) testing and treatment was severely restricted, all of Stellenbosch University’s (SUN) ongoing clinical TB research studies were paused, and their TB lab temporarily closed. Now SUN’s Immunology Research Group has put together a five-minute video on how the ongoing pandemic impacts their TB research.

Under leadership of one of ENDxTB’s PIs, Gerhard Walzl, the SUN TB team got creative. They sat down and looked at how, when patients could no longer access TB clinics, they could directly reach out to patients instead. Beyond ensuring access to TB care, they also reviewed how they could adjust their ongoing studies, applied for funding to include COVID-related research questions in existing TB studies to learn more about TB and COVID-19 co-infection, and put together their own bronchoscopy suite.

How a creative mindset helped the SUN team include COVID-19 questions in ongoing TB research projects

"When humans are faced with a huge challenge, they always try to address the challenge," says Prof Novel Chegou in the video, describing the SUN Immunology Research Group's attitude in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

TB disease usually develops slowly. This means that the last year's setback in TB testing and treatment will impact the spread of the disease for years to come. But the world is already seeing the impacts of COVID-19 on TB. For the first time in over a decade, TB deaths increased in 2020. Last year, a total of 1.5 million people died from the disease.

“We need bigger projects, moving faster to develop more sensitive, specific diagnostic tests, new drugs and more vaccine options. We need political will, funding and for all stakeholders to work together. Hopefully, the momentum created by COVID-19 can be used for TB as well,” says Prof Andre Loxton in the video.

Learn more about how the SUN team works to combat TB, watch SUN’s 5-minute video below.