Zeitschrift für immunologische Techniken und Infektionskrankheiten

Immunochromatographic Assay for Detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Complex in Clinical Isolates at Instituto de Infectologia Emilio Ribas, Brazil

Eira M, Moreira IM, Costa Silva RJ, Boccardo EJ, Souza SA, Carvalho ALI, and Oliveira Junior FI

Immunochromatographic Assay for Detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Complex in Clinical Isolates at Instituto de Infectologia Emilio Ribas, Brazil

Tuberculosis results in an estimated 1.5 million deaths each year and the worldwide number of new cases continues high. For decades, tuberculosis diagnosis in high-burden countries was almost completely based on sputum microscopy. Increasing rates of drug-resistance remains a severe threat that has drawn greater attention from worldwide tuberculosis control programs. We evaluated the performance of TB Ag MPT64 Test directly from 554 BACTEC MGIT 960 (or BACTEC FX, for blood and bone marrow) culture-positive samples: 391 were identified as M. tuberculosis complex and 95 as nontuberculosis mycobacteria. This immunochromatographic assay is easy, sensitive, and does not require a high level of skill or specific equipment. Since 2015, the implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF system is happening in Brazil supported by the Ministry of Health of Brazil, and this diagnostic technology provides a rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance.