The new test that can detect tuberculosis (TB), including drug-resistant forms in less than two hours, that has won the endorsement of the World Health Organization (WHO) was developed by Dr. David Alland of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) in collaboration with Cepheid and the Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics. WHO is urging a worldwide rollout of the DNA-based test, following trials and demonstration studies over 18 months involving 8,000 patients in a number of countries.
WHO said that implementation of the new test could result in a three-fold increase in the diagnosis of patients with drug-resistant TB and a doubling of the number of HIV-associated TB cases diagnosed in areas with high rates of TB and HIV.
Dr. Alland, chief of Infectious Diseases at NJMS, has explained that the new test "makes it possible to detect TB in a single clinic visit. The test also indicates rapidly whether difficult-to-treat drug-resistant forms are present. This is a major advance over other rapid TB detection methods which are complex, labor-intensive, and technically challenging. The test (known as the Xpert MTB/RIF test) is also much simpler than sputum microscopy and is days to weeks faster than bacterial culture."
Cepheid is a California-based molecular diagnostic company.