WHO Endorses New Test for Detecting TB in Less Than 2 Hours

The endorsement of the rapid tuberculosis test by World Health Organization has been made possible by the work of Dr. David Alland, chief of the Division of Infectious Disease at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.

The test, which uses DNA technology to diagnose tuberculosis in less than two hours, will be widely distributed to countries around the world.

Tuberculosis - Spread - Symptoms - Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affects the lung. It may spread to other organs.

WHO says the new test "represents new hope for the millions of people who are at the highest risk of TB and drug-resistant disease."

The testing technology that it replaces, which is 125 years old, is far less reliable and requires three months to produce a diagnosis.

The quicker and more accurate diagnoses produced by Dr. Alland's test will allow healthcare providers to begin tuberculosis treatment far sooner, sharply reducing the risk that infected individuals will spread the disease to others.

Drug Resistance – Antibiotic or Antimicrobial Resistance
Drug resistance is often a problem in malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and hospital acquired diseases. Judicious use of antibiotics can control the problem.

It also will lead to more effective treatment of individual patients by telling clinicians whether disease-causing bacteria are drug-resistant.

Dr. Alland began work on the screening test, which is called Xpert MTB/RIF (Mycobacterium tuberculosis/resistance to rifampin), more than a decade ago.

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The test took four years to develop, followed by the process of attracting funding to refine and manufacture it and then conducting the clinical trials that established its effectiveness.

Source-ANI

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The World Health Organization estimates that nearly nine million people around the world suffer Tuberculosis, which kills one-point-six million people each year.