INTRODUCTION Results of systematic screening of healthcare workers (HCWs) for tuberculosis (TB) with the tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-γ release assays (IGRA) in a Portuguese hospital from 2007 to 2010 are reported. METHODS All HCWs are offered screening for TB. Screening is repeated depending on risk assessment. TST and QuantiFERON Gold In-Tube (QFT) are used simultaneously. X-ra...

The tuberculin skin test (TST) has many limitations for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis (TB infection. The aim of this study in Egypt was to estimate the usefulness of an interferon-gamma release assay (IFN-gamma) assay for the detection of latent TB infection in contacts of active TB cases. A total of 116 participants were enrolled and divided into 3 groups: community controls, casual (la...

Immunological responses were studied in pregnant women and controls using as tests phytohaemagglutinin-induced lymphocyte transformation and the tuberculin reaction. Significantly reduced responses were found to both tests in the pregnant women. These results suggest that a reduction in T-cell activity during pregnancy may help protect the fetus from rejection by its mother's immunological mech...

In March 1955, a comparative study of the results of the (Mantoux) intracutaneous tuberculin test, and the patch test, (Vollmer) was carried on in two Los Angeles schools. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the patch should be substituted for the intracutanous test, allowing greater ease of administration, decreased expense, and lessened work load. The schools chosen were...

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a subclinical infection with Mycobacteria tuberculosis complex without any clinical, bacteriological or radiological evidence of manifest TB disease.1 LTBI results from contact with an infectious case of TB. It is characterised by the presence of mycobacterial T-cell responses, assessed by either the tuberculin skin test (TST) or more recently, interferon...

P ERIODIC REPORTS HAVE EMPHASIZED the lack of stability of repeated tuberCulin skin tests in children. Kunofsky and Katz1 reported on two large groups in two schools for mental defectives. Reversion rates of 4 to 19 per cent were found. Marks et al.2 reported reversion rates between 12 and 26 per cent, depending on Criteria used, during a one-year period of observation of 1,100 tuberculin posit...

A profusion of articles have been published on the accuracy and uses of interferon-gamma releasing assays. Here we review the clinical applications, advantages, and limitations of the tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assays and provide an overview of the most recent systematic reviews conducted for different indications for the use of these tests. We conclude that both tests ar...

In 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture conducted a project in which elk (Cervus elaphus spp.), white-tailed deer (WTD) (Odocoileus virginianus), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) were evaluated by the single cervical tuberculin test (SCT), comparative cervical tuberculin test (CCT), and serologic tests. The rapid antibody detection tests evaluated were the CervidTB Stat-Pak (Stat-P...