One of the most significant developments in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) infection has been the introduction of whole-blood based interferon-? release assays (IGRAs). IGRAs, commercially available as QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT) (QIAGEN, Germantown, MD, USA) and T-SPOT.TB (Oxford Immunotec Ltd, Abingdon, UK), are based on the detection of a T-cell immune response towards RD1 antigens (ESAT-6 and CFP-10), with the addition of the TB7.7 antigen for the QFT only. IGRAs are endowed with great specificity, as the antigens used are almost exclusively expressed by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex, but not Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) . However, the diagnostic sensitivity of IGRAs can be improved (75-85% in HIV-negative active TB patients) especially in countries with a high TB burden .
European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress
Francesca Mariani
2013
Abstract
One of the most significant developments in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) infection has been the introduction of whole-blood based interferon-? release assays (IGRAs). IGRAs, commercially available as QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT) (QIAGEN, Germantown, MD, USA) and T-SPOT.TB (Oxford Immunotec Ltd, Abingdon, UK), are based on the detection of a T-cell immune response towards RD1 antigens (ESAT-6 and CFP-10), with the addition of the TB7.7 antigen for the QFT only. IGRAs are endowed with great specificity, as the antigens used are almost exclusively expressed by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex, but not Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) . However, the diagnostic sensitivity of IGRAs can be improved (75-85% in HIV-negative active TB patients) especially in countries with a high TB burden .I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
