The 12th Conference of the Latin American Society of Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterioses was held from November 19-21, 2025, in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The conference is held every two years by the Latin American Society of Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterioses (SLAMTB - Sociedad Latinoamericana de Tuberculosis y otras Micobacteriosis). In addition to participants from countries across the region, the conference was also attended by scientists from Russia, France, Spain, the United States, and Canada. The three-day program included 41 invited speakers from 17 countries, who participated in sessions and workshops dedicated to the latest advances in tuberculosis research and public policy. Representatives of tuberculosis control programs and national diagnostic and research laboratories from the region participated in the workshops. Two full days were devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis using a comprehensive and modern approach. A special session on veterinary tuberculosis focused on its impact on animal health and its relationship with human health.
Dr. Igor Mokrousov, Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics, was an invited speaker and delivered the invited talk "Genetics of Adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to Selective Pressure of Antibiotics and Potential Anti-TB Drugs".
During the conference, Dr. Mokrousov met with colleagues from the Latin American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, Panama), France, and Spain. He discussed the current state of molecular diagnostics and tuberculosis epidemiology, as well as potential areas for joint research, including those within the BRICS framework, to study drug resistance, virulence, and the spread of mycobacterial strains, primarily using approaches based on next-generation whole-genome sequencing, targeted sequencing, animal models, and omics technologies.
The conference also included a Society Assembly, where further directions of development were identified, including collaboration between national reference laboratories for the diagnosis and epidemiological surveillance of tuberculosis and mycobacteriosis. A decision was made to develop collaboration with other regional societies in this field, primarily with the European Society of Mycobacteriology, the Asian-African Society of Mycobacteriology, and the Brazilian Tuberculosis Research Network.
The XIII SLAMTB conference will be held in Panama in 2027.
All conference materials (program and abstracts) are available on the Society's website: https://sites.google.com/slamtb.com/slamtb/xii-slamtb-meeting
