Clinical and vaccine immunology : CVI
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Clin. Vaccine Immunol. · Aug 2015
Review Comparative StudyGamma Interferon Assays Used in the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease that has infected humans for thousands of years. However, despite diagnostic tests that detect the disease and effective therapy, there are still millions of people worldwide who are infected with TB. The first TB test used to detect infected patients was a skin test that identifies individuals actively infected with TB. ⋯ This minireview evaluates the new assays and compares them to the use of the TB skin test. The use of these new assays may have some advantages in detecting individuals with active tuberculosis. However, there is still a role for the use of the skin test, especially in young patients.