Summary
In line with the mandate of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the Centre for Tuberculosis (CTB) conducts laboratory-based public health surveillance of TB in South Africa, serves as a National TB reference laboratory (NTBRL) and participates in microbiology and epidemiology-oriented training programmes. The CTB also initiates applied public health research aimed at providing enhanced intelligence on the drivers and protective factors that underlie the TB epidemic in South Africa. It furthermore advises and works closely with the Department of Health (DoH) on strategic planning and assists with policy and guideline formulation concerning the diagnosis and treatment of TB in South Africa. Global policies and guidelines are initiated through the World Health Organization (WHO) and their formulation has included representation from the CTB which assisted in developing these strategic documents.
