Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users
to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response
is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual
response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the
browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published
online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed.
Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles.
The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being
wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our
attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not
including references and author details. We will no longer post responses
that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
The recent success in stem cell research and tissue engineering by a
team of European scientists (Patient makes good recovery after transplant
of a bioengineered airway, BMJ 21 November 2008) shows the value of
scientific research to public health. Claudia Castillo was however the
victim of TB, a disease which science has historically neglected but is
now a public health emergency in many countries of the world.
Whilst we congratulate the European team on their success and the hope
it gives to the possibilities for bioengineering, we wish to highlight
that the tools to diagnose, treat and prevent TB are as much as a century-
old. It was TB that caused Claudia’s windpipe to disintegrate, and
worldwide there are now nine million cases of TB each year; there has even
been a resurgence of the disease in Europe, including parts of the UK.
The modern-day disease is complicated by social deprivation, HIV/AIDS
and increasingly drug-resistant strains. Perhaps the cruel advances of
tuberculosis will now be matched by the scientific advances – and
resources – so desperately needed.
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of the UK Coalition to Stop TB:
Sheila Davie, Executive Director, RESULTS UK
Nikki Jeffrey, Director, Target TB
Peter Ballard, Managing Director, Genus Pharmaceuticals
Dr Amina Jindani, Scientific Advisor, World Without TB
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
25 November 2008
Sheila Davie
Executive Director
Nikki Jeffrey, Director, Target TB; Dr Amina Jindani, Scientific Advisor, World Without TB; Peter Ballard, Managing Director, Genus Pharmaceuticals
Research success highlights new danger of TB
The recent success in stem cell research and tissue engineering by a
team of European scientists (Patient makes good recovery after transplant
of a bioengineered airway, BMJ 21 November 2008) shows the value of
scientific research to public health. Claudia Castillo was however the
victim of TB, a disease which science has historically neglected but is
now a public health emergency in many countries of the world.
Whilst we congratulate the European team on their success and the hope
it gives to the possibilities for bioengineering, we wish to highlight
that the tools to diagnose, treat and prevent TB are as much as a century-
old. It was TB that caused Claudia’s windpipe to disintegrate, and
worldwide there are now nine million cases of TB each year; there has even
been a resurgence of the disease in Europe, including parts of the UK.
The modern-day disease is complicated by social deprivation, HIV/AIDS
and increasingly drug-resistant strains. Perhaps the cruel advances of
tuberculosis will now be matched by the scientific advances – and
resources – so desperately needed.
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of the UK Coalition to Stop TB:
Sheila Davie, Executive Director, RESULTS UK
Nikki Jeffrey, Director, Target TB
Peter Ballard, Managing Director, Genus Pharmaceuticals
Dr Amina Jindani, Scientific Advisor, World Without TB
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests