Cape Town - A finger-prick test for TB, which will give rapid results, is being developed at Stellenbosch University.
Led by researchers at SU, it is being developed by a multi-national team of scientists.
Professor Gerhard Walzl, of SU’s faculty of medicine and health sciences, said the test is conducted on blood obtained from a finger prick.
“TB diagnosis can be made within an hour. This low-cost screening test has the potential to significantly speed up TB diagnosis in (a) resource-limited setting,” said Walzl.
The diagnostic test is done by a hand-held, battery-operated gadget that measures chemicals in the blood of people who may have contracted TB.
“Healthcare workers with minimal training will be able use the test at grass-roots level and get immediate access to screening test results,” said Walzl.
A team of TB experts from eight African and European partnering institutions, called the ScreenTB consortium, will conduct tests over the next three years.
The device is currently in its developmental stage and its accuracy and effectiveness will be tested in five African countries.
Walzl said recent advances in TB diagnostics have improved diagnostic times, but high costs and the sophisticated equipment required makes this technology inaccessible to many.
“People in remote areas, with high TB incidences, still do not benefit from the newer developments. They face long diagnostic delays and often multiple return visits to clinics before they are diagnosed,” says Walzl.
The new test will be able to provide near-immediate results that will enable a person with TB to be diagnosed and started on treatment during a single visit to a healthcare facility.
Cape Times