The data, presented at the 43rd annual Union World Conference on Lung Health in Kuala Lumpur, was collected from 25 MSF projects in 14 countries over a nearly 18-month period.
New TB test
It shows an overall 50 percent increase in laboratory-based diagnosis of TB using Xpert MTB/RIF compared to the TB test still most commonly used, sputum smear microscopy, with a high variability across projects (increase in lab confirmation ranged from 10 percent to 115 percent).
The Xpert MTB/RIF test, which provides results within two hours, also detects whether a person’s TB strain is resistant to one of the primary TB drugs, rifampicin.
