By affecting important historical figures, tuberculosis (TB) has particularly influenced European history, and has become a theme in art, mostly literature, music and film. Fr�d�ric Chopin died of consumption in 1849 at age 39 and historical records indicate episodes of hemoptysis during his performances. The Bront� family of writers, poets and painters was particularly struck by TB, with Anne, Branwell, and Emily all dying of it within two years of each other. Charlotte�s death in 1855 was stated as due to TB. Edward Munch (1843-1944), the famous painter who produced �The Scream�, lost two members of his family to tuberculosis: his mother and his beloved sister. The loss of his sister was immortalized in the painting �the Sick Child. Mimi, the heroine of Puccini�s opera, La Boh�me suffers from tuberculosis. Violette Valery, heroine of La Traviata  (G. Verdi) also died of the disease. The pale haunted appearance of tuberculosis was fashionable at times and affected the portrayal issues in European art.

Today, Western Europeans tend to think of tuberculosis as a disease of the dim past. In fact, the TB incidence in the EU is among the lowest in the world and comparable with other industrialised areas like the USA and Australia. This is even lower when considering only the EU-25, which has an incidence of only 13/100,000 in 2005. However, a massive epidemic is now raging in the eastern portion of Europe. The incidence of TB increased progressively when moving from west to east, mirroring the geographical gradient of mortality. In Eastern Europe nearly 50,000 people die from the disease each year. The fight against TB is not restricted to the medical field. It is an important issue in public health, in the socio-economical and scientific areas. It is also an issue for Europe because of the large differences among countries. 
In 2005, 92 129 TB cases were reported in the EU (27 countries). This represents 22% of the total number reported (426 717) in the European Region (53 countries). The challenges TB poses to the EU are related to the current epidemiological patterns. There are 20 countries with low TB incidence (between 4-20 cases per 100,000 population) and 7 countries with moderate to high incidence (between 24-135, in increasing order Poland, Portugal, Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania). The problem is compounded by the steeply rising prevalence of HIV, especially in Russia and several former soviet republics, which makes people far more susceptible to developing active tuberculosis.
The available BCG vaccine has no proven effect on reduction of TB transmission. Control of the disease is achieved by case detection and treatment with a combination of drugs. The two main drugs to treat TB (isoniacid and rifampicin) have been used for the last 40 years with no significant addition of powerful treatments. The last EuroTB report shows that in the Baltic states 18% of TB cases are from Multi-drug resistance strain ( MDR-TB) meaning that the bacteria are resistant to the two most potent "first-line" TB drugs. Of the 20 countries in the world with the highest rates of MDR-TB, 14 are in Europe. If MDR-TB cases are not detected or managed properly with second-line drugs, patients can develop extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB. This is a result of poor TB-control practices and a high percentage of people dropping out of treatment
The epidemiological situation in European countries calls for concerted EU action. That means mobilizing all necessary internal and external resources to expand TB control programmes within strengthened health systems, to implement joint measures against TB/HIV, to strengthen laboratory capacity, to develop scientific guidance and to invest in research. Areas to be covered include developing tools for rapid diagnosis, devising drugs that can be given for a much shorter period, and development of a vaccine.
As citizens and members of the international scientific organizations of laboratory medicine, we should build effective partnerships with the EU-funded surveillance network Euro TB. Active participation is needed in communication and social mobilization as well as in operational research programmes. Infectious diseases that are spread through the air, such as tuberculosis, know no borders. Although tackling tuberculosis means resources, it is also a question of whether collectively, lay people, scientists and the world community have the will to eradicate this ancient scourge of humanity.

Harmonizing genetic testing across Europe
Contributed by Bernard GOUGET, SFBC-EFCC representative

EuroGentest is an EU-funded Network of Excellence (NoE) with 5 Units looking at all aspects of genetic testing - Quality Management, Information Databases, Public Health, New Technologies and Education. Through a series of initiatives EuroGentest encourages the harmonization of standards and practice in all these areas throughout the EU and beyond. Eurogentest (www.eurogentest.org) is the first version of the Quality Assurance database (QAu) for genetic testing laboratories. Accurate genetic diagnosis testing is essential for rare disease patients and their families. To date, there is no standardised mechanism in place to easily evaluate the quality of a given laboratory for every diagnostic test. QAu was developed to meet this need. It is expected that the database will quickly become a necessary resource for geneticists and other professionals around the world in order to provide accurate and reliable test results to patients and their families. To be updated annually, version 1.0 of the database includes profiles for the more than 50% of laboratories surveyed that replied to an in-depth survey. The database provides a search engine that is simple to use and has different features depending on the needs of the user. It also has a guide for novice users. The EuroGentest website provides detailed information on the development of the database, including the survey created and the complex and thorough validation process employed to ensure the accuracy of the data received. The web-based survey made an in-depth probe of quality management data while taking confidentiality into account. Accreditation, certification, and licensing status were all considered.The QAu database includes all laboratories offering any form of genetic testing (molecular, cytogenetic, biochemical). All the data for the quality assurance of genetic testing laboratories will also be available on the new version of the Orphanet website.

Report on the Clinical Molecular Biology Course
Organized by the IFCC Committee on Clinical Molecular Biology Curriculum
Contributed by Dr. Leila N Shami, Medical Care Centre, Damascus, Syria

I was one among other Syrian doctors who had the opportunity to travel to Milan, Italy to attend the Clinical Molecular Biology Course.