On 14-16 April 2025, the 3rd International Post-Tuberculosis Symposium was held at the STIAS Institute in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The multidisciplinary symposium brings together leaders in the field of post-tuberculosis (TB) and serves as a vital platform to address the long-term health challenges faced by TB survivors – an increasingly important focus in global TB care.
Prevention, diagnosis and management of post-TB lung disease were key topics at the symposium and discussed in plenary meetings as well as workshops. The StatinTB consortium was actively involved in the symposium, which was attended by 240 participants.
As co-lead of the post-TB lung disease working group, StatinTB PI Dr Gunar Günther (Inselspital Bern) was involved in the development of the symposium content. The StatinTB clinical trial team around Prof. Friedrich Thienemann (University of Zurich) and Drs Karen Wolmarans and Sandra Mukasa (University of Cape Town) presented a poster outlining the baseline findings of the StatinTB clinical trial, which include an association between having persistent inflammation of the lungs and poorer lung function. StatinTB Coordinator Prof. Reto Guler and Dr. Trevor Mafu (University of Cape Town) presented preliminary findings on the immunomodulatory effects of atorvastatin and provided novel insights into host immune responses and serum biomarker profiles associated with post-TB lung disease. Their presentations underscored emerging evidence supporting the potential of statins as host-directed therapies to improve outcomes beyond microbiological cure, aligning with StatinTB’s overarching goal of informing future clinical strategies for the management of post-TB lung disease.
The symposium also offered a unique opportunity for networking and scientific exchange, enabling StatinTB consortium members to engage with the broader research community on shared interests – particularly around biomarker discovery as a key pathological mechanism in post-TB lung disease.
They symposium again documented the need to address the topic of post-TB lung disease. It showed that in absence of specific treatments, the results of the StatinTB project are eagerly awaited by the research community.
The StatinTB team with Symposium Organizer Dr Brian Allwood (Stellenbosch University)