It is with great pleasure that we announce the launch of a new journal dedicated to tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem. In 2013, an estimated 9.0 million people developed TB and 1.5 million died from the disease. Tuberculosis is the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide, after the human immunodeficiency virus infection. While there has been progress in the efforts to control tuberculosis, considerable work remains to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of reducing the global burden of tuberculosis. There has been a resurgence of interest among scientists and commercial companies in investigating how tuberculosis causes disease and acquires resistance to drugs; there is interest in developing new diagnostic methods, vaccines, and therapeutics as well. More than 50 companies are involved in development of new diagnostic tests. At least 10 new or repurposed TB drugs are in late phases of clinical development. There are 10 vaccines for TB prevention and 2 immunotherapeutic vaccines in the pipeline.
Determining the global burden of non-tuberculous (NTM) mycobacterial infections is difficult because reporting these infections to public health departments is not required. Nevertheless, published reports indicate that non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections are increasing. The treatment of these infections is more problematic than many people realize. Many NTM organisms are resistant to currently available antibiotics and require a longer course of treatment than tuberculosis. The cost associated with managing these infections may be several fold than that of tuberculosis.
In spite of the disease burden represented by tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases, there is a lack of a venue/platform for a robust and focused exchange of clinical experiences and evidence basis for managing these diseases. While there are opinions and guidance provided on various issues by a number of entities, these are either published on websites and/or provided through brochures/monographs, often lacking the rigor of a peer-reviewed and duly-processed article. At present, there are only a handful of English-language medical journals that have tuberculosis as a primary focus; one is focused on basic science research, the remainders have a broad focus that includes other lung diseases, such as asthma, acute respiratory infection, COPD, child lung health, tobacco, and pollution, in addition to tuberculosis. There is no medical journal that has non-tuberculous mycobacteria as its primary focus. Articles on mycobacteria are distributed over a broad range of journals, demonstrating the lack of focus on these topics. In 2013, there were 3818 articles with their title containing the word “tuberculosis”. Of these articles, 222 were in 33 journals that are designated as core clinical journals. Similarly, there were 186 articles in 2013 with their title containing the word “mycobacteria”. These articles were distributed among 113 journals.
We believe that the Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other mycobacterial Diseases (JCTUBE) fills an unmet need by providing a platform for the dissemination of results of clinically relevant research; the sharing of clinical observations that illustrate important points, highlight complexities, generate discussions, and provide impetus for further clinical research; and the presentation of expert opinion on topics for which clinical trial-based evidence to direct clinical management is not available. Thus, it is very appropriate that the launch of this journal is announced on World TB day, a day that commemorates the date in 1882 when Robert Koch delivered his presentation announcing the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis before a group of scientists at the Physiological Society in Berlin.
Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases (JCTUBE) is a Gold Open Access journal published by Elsevier and is edited by leading international experts in the field. We look forward to your submissions, comments, and active participation. Let's start publishing!
Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other mycobacterial Diseases (JCTUBE)
For aims & scope, free to access content, contacts, full list of Board Members, and to submit online visit: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-clinical-tuberculosis-and-other-mycobacterial-diseases/