World Tuberculosis Day: Early Detection
Tuberculosis is one of the most common diseases in the world, and a large number of people in the world are suffering from this disease, and medical science always tries to prevent the spread of the tuberculosis bacterial infection and lead to complete treatment of this disease.
World TB Day is observed every year on March 24. “Yes! We can end TB!” The 2023 theme for this day tries to motivate world leaders to take action to stop the TB epidemic.
Tuberculosis infects more than 10 million people annually. The disease is preventable, treatable, and curable. Accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis early in the infection cycle can help speed up treatment and curb the spread of the disease.
Early diagnosis of TB remains the biggest barrier to treatment compliance. For TB to be completely eradicated, we need a well-equipped public health infrastructure that can detect pulmonary infections early before the disease has a chance to spread.
Despite the progress made and the actions taken by the countries of the world, we still have a long way to go in achieving the goals and objectives of the TB End Strategy and there are various challenges that need to be addressed in the regional response to TB.
To end TB in our Region, we need to:
Strengthen partnerships and collaboration to maximize the beneficial impact of TB prevention and care efforts
Enhance multisectoral collaboration to strengthen responses to end the TB epidemic through mobilizing resources, ensuring social protection of people with TB, and addressing the social determinants of TB.
Increase investment, in view of prevailing resource limitations. This to increase access to new TB diagnosis, treatments and TB preventive treatment.
Boost TB research and innovation inaccurate and rapid diagnosis of TB
Various methods of laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis
In order for your doctor to tell you definitively that you have tuberculosis, he or she must review the results of your various tests and then document the treatment. Among the various methods of laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis, we can mention the following:
Tuberculin skin test (PPD):
In this test, also known as the TST test, a special syringe is used to deliver PPD tuberculin peptide under the skin, usually to the forearm. If it is normal to have a small, faint lump when injected, keep in mind that this is different from injecting a vaccine.
After a few days, a lab colleague or doctor will examine your skin. If the test site is swollen, firm, and prominent, it will measure it with a ruler, and the TST result, which depends on the size of the red swelling at the injection site. Is being reported. After performing this test for tuberculosis and it’s positive, you should do other tests to determine whether it is hidden or obvious.
Molecular detection method (PCR):
PCR test or polymerase chain reaction can be considered as one of the most important and basic methods for diagnosing this disease due to the short time for diagnosis and response to the test result. PCR is a method that by taking a trace of DNA in bacteria and observing the desired genetic sequence in the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, we can find out that the test result is positive.
In the same way, it can be stated whether bacteria are present in a person’s body or not, because sometimes bacteria may be present in the body but have no activity, and therefore will remain hidden in the body and show no symptoms. Also does not update. In this case, with the PCR method, we can find out the presence or absence of this disease, ie tuberculosis.
Interferon-gamma method (IGRA):
This test is usually done on the blood of people suspected of having tuberculosis. This test measures the immune system’s response to a bacterial attack and the cause of tuberculosis. In other words, the amount of antibodies present and the antibodies secreted will indicate whether this test is positive or negative.
The amount of antibody present and its size in the body should normally be a definite amount. When the disease agent enters the body, the body will begin to produce antibodies and secrete antibodies against that agent, in which case two classes of antibodies are attacked and memory is created. Attack antibodies can be measured this way. By measuring this substance in the body, we can act for treatment.
Direct smear examination of sputum and its culture:
By direct smear preparation of the sample and culturing them and finally fast acid staining (Zil Neelsen-Ziehl method) or acid decolorization resistance method and observation under a microscope.
In this method, first, a sputum sample is taken from a person suspected of having the disease and placed in a special culture medium with appropriate temperature and conditions for a specified period of time. After the specified time, if the bacteria grow in the culture medium, it means that the test result is positive and the person will have tuberculosis. This test is usually a preliminary test and you will have to spend a long time answering the test.
TB-Fluorochrome staining:
This method is one of the most popular methods in the world in the diagnosis of tuberculosis bacilli and using the fluorochrome method, mycobacteria are detected in the form of light fluorescent rods against a darker background. Fluorochrome staining is more sensitive and takes less time to examine the smear than Kinyoun or ZN staining because the smears can be examined at a lower magnification.
Today, having reliable laboratory diagnostic kits that provide accurate and fast results is one of the basic needs of medical diagnostic laboratories in the country, which has been achieved by relying on the power and knowledge of domestic manufacturing companies.
For example, Amirpayvand Research and Development Company, is one of the leading companies in the field of laboratory diagnostic reagent kits, that currently producing and offering various IVD products in the field of tuberculosis diagnosis under AP-RAD brand in the domestic market. Among these products are TB fluorochrome staining kit, Mycobacteria DNA extraction kit, and for the first time in the country, it has succeeded in producing and obtaining an IVD license from the General Department of Medical Equipment of the Ministry of Health to produce a multiplex PCR kit for the qualitative diagnosis of NTM & MTC in the country.
The Payvand laboratory Clinical and Specialty , pathology and genetics of Laboratory is known as one of the referral centers in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the country by using the latest techniques, kits and definition of diagnostic panels on all types of tests in the fields of immunoserology and molecular.