Diagnostics for Tuberculosis

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Every year there are 8.8 million new active cases and nearly two million deaths worldwide from tuberculosis (about 5,000 every day), mostly in the poorest communities of the developing world. One third of the world's population has latent TB which may later develop into an active form of the disease, and it has also become the leading cause of death among people with HIV. Multidrug-resistance is also a growing problem. A key challenge for the public health community is to be able to effectively diagnose patients so that valuable resources and medicines are not wasted on misdiagnosis and repeat treatments. This report, written by an international network of researchers and policy experts, examines the global market for TB diagnostics available for active disease, latent infection, drug resistance and treatment response. It provides a sound basis for diagnostics development suitable for various levels of health systems in industrialised and developing countries.