Preventive therapies for tuberculosis infection

In 2015, the WHO recognised TBI as a public health concern and defined the essential role of programmatic management of TPT (PMTPT) in the End TB Strategy. PMTPT consists of a cascade of activities starting with the selection of target populations up to the completion of treatment in those in need. Treatment of TBI became a public health intervention, and in the latest 2020 guidelines, the WHO recommended five different regimens and provided advice on their use considering TB burden, HIV status, age and pregnancy. The major problems related to TPT are duration of treatment, toxicity and tolerability, completion rates, and interactions between rifamycins and other drugs. To date, we are still far from reaching the 2022 milestone set by the United Nations High-Level Meeting in 2018 and therefore the End TB Strategy goal of treating 1.7 billion people seems out of reach. Future research and funding should focus on discovering shorter and better-tolerated regimens that could widen the target population for PMTPT. <bold>Cite as:</bold> Matteelli A, Rossi L, Lovatti S, <italic>et al.</italic> Preventive therapies for tuberculosis infection. <italic>In:</italic> García-Basteiro AL, Öner Eyüboğlu F, Rangaka MX, eds. The Challenge of Tuberculosis in the 21st Century (ERS Monograph). Sheffield, European Respiratory Society, 2023; pp. 151–163 [<ext-link>https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10024822</ext-link>].