RATIONALE To improve the effectiveness of tuberculosis (TB) control programs in the United States by identifying cost-effective priorities for screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). OBJECTIVES To estimate the cost-effectiveness of LTBI screening using the tuberculin skin test (TST)and interferon-g release assays (IGRAs). METHODS A Markov model of screening for LTBI with TST and...

BACKGROUND Targeted screening for latent TB infection (LTBI) in vulnerable populations is a recommended TB control strategy. Pregnant women are at high risk for developing TB and likely to access healthcare, making pregnancy an important screening opportunity in developing countries. The sensitivity of the widely-used tuberculin skin test (TST), however, may be reduced during pregnancy. METHO...

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis continues to cause unacceptably high levels of disease and death worldwide. Active preventive strategies are required to improve tuberculosis control and to increase the number of cases treated in developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of the tuberculin skin test (TST) in first-year schoolchildren as a means of increasing the number of tu...

OBJECTIVE Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) are now available alternatives to tuberculin skin testing (TST) for detection of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). We compared the cost-effectiveness of TST and IGRA in different populations and clinical situations, and with variation of a number of parameters. METHODS Markov modelling was used to compare expected TB cases and costs over 20...

The interferon (IFN)-γ response to peptides can be a useful diagnostic marker of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) latent infection. We identified promiscuous and potentially protective CD4+ T-cell epitopes from the most conserved regions of MTB antigenic proteins by scanning the MTB antigenic proteins GroEL2, phosphate-binding protein 1 precursor and 19 kDa antigen with the TEPITOPE algorithm. ...

OBJECTIVES South Koreans receive the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination, which influence the result of the tuberculin skin test (TST); however, only a few studies have described the usefulness of the TST and interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) for diagnosing latent TB infection (LTBI). Therefore, our aim was to determine the usefulness of the TST and IGRA for diagnosing LTBI in a househol...

SETTING Two prisons in Medellín and Itagüí, Colombia. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity in prisoners and the annual risk of tuberculous infection (ARTI), to identify risk factors associated with a positive result, and to describe progression to active disease. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. Inmates were included if time of incarceration was ⩾1 yea...

Radiographic lesions suggesting old healed tuberculosis (TB) is considered a risk factor for the subsequent development of active TB. The aim of this study was to estimate the positive rates of tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) in persons with old healed TB. Participants with lesions suggesting old healed TB on chest images and controls without such lesions we...

BACKGROUND While many North American healthcare institutions are switching from Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) to Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs), there is relatively limited data on association between occupational tuberculosis (TB) risk factors and test positivity and/or patterns of test discordance. METHODS We recruited a cohort of Canadian health care workers (HCWs) in Montreal, and p...

The high background rates of positive results on the tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) sometimes confuse the investigation of tuberculosis (TB) contact in TB-prevalent countries, particularly in elderly contacts. The aim was to investigate the predictive value of TST and IGRA for diagnosing latent TB infection (LTBI) in elderly household contacts in South Kore...