Current tuberculosis infection tests struggle to detect the disease in those with HIV. A common co-infection, HIV can hide TB from traditional tests by eliminating the immune cells relied upon to sound the alarm.
While more than 90% of the 2 billion TB cases worldwide are latent – symptom-free and not contagious – the weakening of the immune system in those with HIV can allow latent TB to turn active, increasing the potential for new infections to spread and often resulting in fatal outcomes. Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among those with HIV worldwide.
Now, Tulane University researchers have developed a new handheld TB test that significantly improves detection in people with HIV, according to a new study in
Nature Biomedical Engineering
. Powered by a beetle-inspired chemical reaction, the device requires no electricity and addresses a critical gap in TB infection detection that has long hobbled efforts to eliminate the world’s deadliest infectious disease.
Dubbed the ASTRA (Antigen-Specific T-cell Response Assay), the credit card-sized device requires only a drop of blood to provide same day diagnoses without need for a laboratory or trained staff. When tested against the traditional IGRA blood test (Interferon-Gamma Release Assay), the ASTRA detected TB in HIV-infected individuals with 87% specificity compared to IGRA’s 60%, while also outperforming in detection of TB without HIV co-infection.
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