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A simple diagnostic test to detect tuberculosis in humans
Published on: June 1, 2015
Tuberculosis (TB) represents a growing worldwide healthcare burden. Second only to HIV in terms of its global impact, TB infected 8.5 million people and caused 1.4 million deaths in 2011. If these statistics are to improve, early detection is critical.
Led by Taha Roodbar Shojaei and Mohamad Amran Mohd Salleh of Universiti Putra Malaysia, the international research team set out to develop a sensitive new system that could quickly and reliably detect TB in humans. One of their biggest hurdles was to differentiate people infected with tuberculosis from those who have received the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine for tuberculosis.