How is Xpert MTB/RIF being implemented in 22 high tuberculosis burden countries?

Advances in tuberculosis diagnostics: the Xpert MTB/RIF assay and future prospects for a point-of-care test.

Rapid progress has been made in the development of new diagnostic assays for tuberculosis in recent years. New technologies have been developed and assessed, and are now being implemented. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay, which enables simultaneous detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and rifampicin (RIF) resistance, was endorsed by WHO in December, 2010. This assay was specifically recommende...

How is Xpert MTB/RIF being implemented in 22 high tuberculosis burden countries?

Accurate and rapid diagnosis is crucial for tuberculosis control by ensuring a timely start to treatment and reducing transmission. In 2012, almost one third of tuberculosis cases were not diagnosed and/or reported to national tuberculosis programmes (NTPs), and ,25% of estimated incident multidrug-resistant (MDR) cases were diagnosed [1]. Xpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a nucleic ...

Using Xpert MTB/RIF

Xpert MTB/RIF is an automated real-time polymerase chain reaction test for simultaneous detection of tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance. Xpert MTB/RIF has demonstrated excellent accuracy in clinical evaluation studies, but has reduced sensitivity for detection of smear-negative tuberculosis. Since sample processing and detection are largely automated, Xpert MTB/RIF is potentially suitable f...

Implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF in 22 high tuberculosis burden countries: are we making progress?

Performance evaluation of three commercial molecular assays for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from clinical specimens in a high TB-HIV-burden setting

BACKGROUND A major challenge faced by countries with a high burden of tuberculosis (TB) is early detection especially in individuals with paucibacillary disease which is common in HIV endemic settings. Remarkable efforts have been made globally to accelerate the development and expansion of new diagnostic technologies that allow better and earlier diagnosis of active tuberculosis particularly d...