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Tuberculosis: the molecular fight back has started

Optimum tuberculosis management requires rapid detection, prevention and treatment, but David Persing believes current technology is inadequate. Here, he explains why a new test could prove to be one of the most important diagnostic developments to have occurred in many years.

Tuberculosis (TB) has taken a back seat over the past few decades as it has not received the funding appropriate to such a major health threat to the developing world. The World Health Organization (WHO) published statistics last month showing that worldwide TB rates are stabilising. Interestingly, however, there are a few countries in which TB rates are increasing.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has released statistics showing that the UK has seen a 2% increase (the only European country in which TB is actually on the rise). In African countries, where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/TB co-infection is rife, TB deaths have quadrupled over the past 15 years. Clearly, tuberculosis is making a comeback. The disease is stronger now than ever before and is rapidly becoming more drug-resistant with several mutant forms. In fact, TB is second only to HIV as the world’s deadliest infectious disease, claiming a life every 20 seconds.

One of the key obstacles in controlling TB infection is the extremely poor diagnostic methods currently available. This article will examine those current diagnostics and reveal details of a new test that is set to change the way that TB is diagnosed and ultimately controlled around the world.

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