07/03/2024
Introduction
Tuberculosis (TB) represents one of the major global health concerns, with 10 million new cases estimated in 2022 and 1.5 million deaths [1]. TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) whose bacilli are transmitted through respiratory droplets produced by infected individuals [2]. The World health Organization (WHO) estimates that about a quarter of the global population have been exposed to Mtb. Even if most people will not develop TB disease and will clear the infection, the exposure to Mtb may lead in 20-25% of cases to TB infection (TBI) and 5 to 10% of these individuals could develop active TB during their lifetime [3] [4]. Thus, to develop effective TB elimination strategies the need to identify and treat TB infected individuals clearly emerges.
Currently, three classes of tests are recommended by the WHO for the detection of TB infection: the new class of Mtb antigen-based skin tests (TBSTs), the tuberculin skin test (TST) and the interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) [5]. […]
Link al documento completo: Quantiferon Tb Gold Plus: Four is better than three?
from STOP-TB Italia scientific committee
