This is the second workshop of the bioinformatics in the tropics series, which will be presented by the Wellcome Trust Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies at K-RITH at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, 23 to 27 September 2013. The bioinformatics in the tropics series is part of a south to south capacity building programme to develop the next generation of bioinformaticians in Africa and Latin America.

This is the first workshop of the bioinformatics in the tropics series, which will be presented at the Oswaldo Moniz Research Center (CPqGM), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 22 to 26 July 2013.

This is a series of four workshops, which will be presented in Brazil (2013 & 2014), South Africa (2013) and Uganda (2014) as part of a south to south capacity building programme to develop the next generation of bioinformaticians in Africa and Latin America.

We are pleased to announce that we are presenting at the Sixth Infectious Disease Genomics and Global Health conference, Cambridge, U.K, 16-18 October 2013. The focus of this meeting is the application of genomic technologies to the problems of infectious disease in a global health context.

Drug resistance poses significant potential problems in the fight against HIV and TB, but little is known about how best to tackle it. Dr Tulio de Oliveira heads a network that aims to fill this knowledge gap.

By Jonathan Davis, 15 April 2013 - Researchers from the Africa Centre for Health and Population Research near Mtubatuba have published a important book to help rural doctors, nurses and pharmacists working on the frontline of the country's interlinked HIV and tuberculosis (TB) pandemics manage increasing levels of resistance to the drugs needed to fight the diseases.

The concept behind this newsletter is that anyone with 15 minutes to spare can learn about the work of SATuRN. The newsletter is presented as a PDF document with links to complete articles at the bioafrica.net website.

The 17th Annual Rural Health Conference will be held in St. Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, from 8 to 10 August 2013. SATuRN will have a session (approximately 2-3 hours) in the conference and will distribute the HIV & TB Drug Resistance and Clinical Management Case Book.

Pretoria News - 19 March 2013, DOCTORS from the University of Pretoria (UP) and University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) have stepped up to the challenge of providing a clinical management casebook for health care workers treating patients with HIV and TB drug resistance.

By Sanku Tsunke, Pretoria, 19 March 2013. Drug resistance is one of the main challenges confronting HIV and TB programmes in Africa. Facing these challenges requires an understanding of how drug resistance develops, as well as up-to-date knowledge of how to diagnose and manage drug resistance in HIV and TB patients.

HIV and TB: Drug Resistance and Clinical Management Case Book - a book co-authored by two academics from the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies - has been presented to frontline health workers at a workshop in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Weerstand teen medikasie is een van die belangrikste struikelblokke wat programme om MIV en tuberkulose in Afrika te bestry te bowe moet kom. Om hierdie uitdagings die hoof te bied, word 'n begrip vereis van hoe weerstand teen die middels tot stand kom, sowel as vertroudheid met die jongste metodes om weerstand teen die medikasie in MIV- en tuberkulosepasiente te diagnoseer en bestuur.

UKZN's Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, based in the College of health Sciences, has once again made huge strides in HIV management. Recently, the Centre's, Dr Richard Lessells and Dr Tulio de Oliveira together with the University of Pretoria's, Dr. Theresa Rossouw; launched a book entitled, 'HIV and TB: Drug Resistance and Clinical Management Case Book'.

Prof Eric Buch, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria, in partnership with European Delegation to South Africa, MRC Inflammation and Immunity Unit and the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, UKZN, invite members of the media to attend the launch of the 'HIV and TB Resistance & Clinical Management Case Book' that is authored by Dr Theresa Rossouw of UP and Drs Richard Lessells and Tulio de Oliveira of the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies. The details are as follows:

University of Pretoria invites you to attend the launch of the publication HIV and TB resistance & clinical management case book. The invitation is writen in three official South African languages: Afrikaans, English and Sepedi.

We are announcing the organization of the international workshop on Virus Evolution and Molecular Epidemiology (VEME) in 2013, hosted by the Emerging Pathogens Institute in the warm city of Gainsville and sponsored by several local partners.

Africa Centre, South Africa, 22 February 2013 - Today, colleagues from the Wellcome Trust Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies have published two breakthrough scientific manuscripts at Science.

Organised by the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies and Southern African Treatment and Resistance Network (SATuRN) in collaboration with the uMkhanyakude District Health Office. This workshop is aimed at developing knowledge and skills around the prevention and management of drug resistance and treatment failure in both HIV and TB.

Viral phylogenies have wide use: studying evolution, tracing the origin of epidemics, establishing dominant mode of transmission, identifying the apparition of drug resistance, even tracking individual body compartments.

The African Centre for Integrated Laboratory Training (ACILT) present the HIV-1 drug resistance practical course, 22-26 April, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has converted HIV infection from an almost universally fatal illness to a chronic manageable disease. Adherence to therapy is essential for full viral suppression and optimal immune reconstitution.

By Jon Cohen on December 11, 2012 - Nearly 1.5 million people die from tuberculosis every year, even though most cases can be cured with routine antibiotic treatments. One country's fight to get the ancient scourge under control has an unlikely hero: a simple diagnostic test.

BioAfrica, Southern African Treatment and Resistance Network (SATuRN), and the Africa Centre Bioinformatics Unit use art to present scientific facts in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. They are involved in many community engagement activities, presenting to African communities about the origin of HIV, the causes and consequences of drug resistance development, and how to successfully manage HIV and tuberculosis (TB) treatment.

The Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD) in collaboration with CAPRISA, SATuRN/Africa Centre and the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press hosted Getting to Zero: Showcasing KZN Research on HIV and AIDS on 14 November at the KZNSA Gallery.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 14-17 Nov 2012, SATuRN researchers Dr. Richard Lessells and Dr. Tulio de Oliveira had a very successful TB conference. In this post we cover their presentations, workshops participation and tweeter coverage.

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 14 Nov 2012. We have organized and presented an event at the KZN National Art Gallery that portrait our DNA sequencing and Art & Science work.

SATuRN is presenting a talk at the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (K-RITH) opening. This symposium has a fantastic scientific program, with some of the leading researchers and funders in the world! Please follow our tweeter coverage!

SATuRN activities were highlighted at the LSHTM TB Centre Annual Retreat, which was held in Downing College, Cambridge.

Researchers based in northern KwaZulu-Natal in rural South Africa are exploring the impact of novel molecular tuberculosis diagnostic system on clinical outcomes for patients with multidrug-resistance TB.

In this third issue of our newsletter we have included interesting news, blogs, reports, tweets, publications and training information produced by our network. We hope you enjoy it and find it informative. We welcome any feedback about content or format.