Scientists are reporting an advance toward a fast, inexpensive urine test to detect and monitor the effectiveness of treatment for tuberculosis (TB), which is on a rampage in the developing world.
Their study appears in the ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry.
A team led by Virander Singh Chauhan and Ranjan Kumar Nanda notes that TB strikes an estimated 10 million people and kills 3 million each year, mostly in developing countries. Health care workers diagnose the disease by identifying the TB bacterium in sputum or blood samples. But current tests tend to be time-consuming, sometimes taking days or weeks to give results. The tests also require the use of specially trained personnel or expensive equipment that might not be available in some areas.
The scientists describe an advance toward a test that overcomes these drawbacks.
