New test for tuberculosis detection

2003/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

The methods so far did not allow detection of tuberculosis until symptoms appeared. Now, doctors at the University of Oxford have developed a new test that allows early diagnosis.

The test commonly used detects antibodies associated with tuberculosis bacteria. The need to wait for this link causes the disease to be detected too late. In addition, for those vaccinated against tuberculosis, this test sometimes gives false positives.

But there is an alternative: detecting immune-specific T cells instead of looking for antibodies can diagnose the disease in the first steps. English immunologists have used T cells that multiply against some bacteria proteins.