Fast, accurate new TB test is unveiled

September 02, 2010|Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — Scientists are reporting a major advance in diagnosing tuberculosis: A new test can reveal in less than two hours, with very high accuracy, whether someone has the disease and whether it is resistant to the main drug for treating it.

The test could revolutionize TB care and replace the 125-year-old process used now, which is slow and misses more than half of all cases, scientists say.

A better test would be a powerful tool to curb TB in poor countries, where most people spread the lung disease before they are diagnosed and treated, and many don’t return for follow-up doctor visits to get test results.

In the United States, it could be a big help in urban clinics, where diagnosing a drug-resistant strain on someone’s first visit enables treatment right away.

“You can tell the patient before they leave the office if they have TB and if it’s drug-resistant. It’s transformational,’’ said Dr. Peter Small, head of TB programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which helped fund the work.

World Health Organization officials expect to meet over the next few days with people knowledgeable about the results — published online yesterday by the New England Journal of Medicine — and plan the next steps forward.

Tuberculosis kills about 1.8 million people a year. The best test — growing the bacteria in a lab dish from a mucus sample — takes a week or more, so the most common approach is to look at a sample under a microscope. That misses many cases.