The aim of this study was to obtain epidemiological estimates of bovine tuberculosis (TB) prevalence in cattle in the highlands of Cameroon using two population-based tuberculin skin test (TST) surveys in the years 2009 and 2010. However, prior to the TST survey in 2010, blood was collected from already chosen cattle for serological assay. Anti-bovine TB antibodies was detected in 37.17% of tes...

Background: Prompt diagnosis and treatment of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI) are needed to control TB. The aim of the study was to compare the performance of Quanti FERON-TB test (QFT) with conventional TST for the diagnosis of LTBI. Methods: In this analytical - comparison study, we enrolled 87 nurses working in teaching hospitals in Ahvaz. All study subjects were tested by TST.&...

INTRODUCTION Using French cut-offs for the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST), results of the TST were compared with the results of an Interferon-gamma Release Assay (IGRA) in Healthcare Workers (HCW) after contact to AFB-positive TB patients. METHODS Between May 2006 and May 2007, a total of 148 HCWs of the University Hospital in Nantes, France were tested simultaneously with IGRA und TST. A TST was...

Background: The risk of developing tuberculosis is high among chronic hemodialysis patients. The tuberculin skin test (TST) has been in use for diagnosing latent TB, but few data are available on TST in hemodialysis patients. Objective: This study was done to identify the TST reactivity and frequency of booster effect in serial TST among hemodialysis patients. Methods: A total of 100 patients i...

BACKGROUND The identification of Mycobacterium-tuberculosis (Mtb) infected individuals remains a challenge due to an insufficient understanding of immune responses detected with the current diagnostic tests for latent tuberculosis i.e. the tuberculin skin test (TST) or IFN-γ release assays (IGRAs) and an inability to distinguish infection stages with current immunologic assays. Further classifi...

We investigated the aftereffects of confirmatory QuantiFERON testing (QFT) added to a positive tuberculin skin test (TST). We reviewed the pre and post course of sequential tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks in a high school where massive 43 active TB cases had been found within one year before delayed contact investigation. And we investigated the TB development in relation to initial TST and QFT dur...

RATIONALE Each year 1 million persons acquire permanent U.S. residency visas after tuberculosis (TB) screening. Most applicants undergo a 2-stage screening with tuberculin skin test (TST) followed by CXR only if TST-positive at > 5 mm. Due to cross reaction with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), TST may yield false positive results in BCG-vaccinated persons. Interferon gamma release assays exclud...

BACKGROUND An interferon-γ release assay, QuantiFERON-TB (QFT) test, has been introduced an alternative test for the diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Here, we compared the performance of QFT with tuberculin skin test (TST) measured at two different cut-off points among primary health care work (HCW) in Brazil. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out amo...

BACKGROUND Despite certain drawbacks, the tuberculin skin test (TST) remains in widespread use. Important advantages of the TST are its low cost, simplicity and interpretation based on extensive published literature. However, TST specificity is reduced by bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and exposure to non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). METHODS To estimate TST specificity, we revie...

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination can confound tuberculin skin test (TST) reactions in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). The TST was compared with a Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-specific enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay during an outbreak of MTB infection at a police academy in Germany. Participants were grouped according to their risk of LTBI in close (...