Journal article

Mycobacteria-specific cytokine responses detect tuberculosis infection and distinguish latent from active tuberculosis

M Tebruegge, B Dutta, S Donath, N Ritz, B Forbes, K Camacho-Badilla, V Clifford, C Zufferey, R Robins-Browne, W Hanekom, SM Graham, T Connell, N Curtis

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine | Published : 2015

Abstract

Rationale: Current immunodiagnostic tests for tuberculosis (TB), including the tuberculin skin test and IFN-γ release assay (IGRA), have significant limitations, which include their inability to distinguish between latent TB infection (LTBI) and active TB, a distinction critical for clinical management. Objectives: To identify mycobacteria-specific cytokine biomarkers that characterize TB infection, determine their diagnostic performance characteristics, and establish whether these biomarkers can distinguish between LTBI and active TB. Methods: A total of 149 children investigated for TB infection were recruited; all participants underwent a tuberculin skin test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay..

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Grants

Awarded by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

Supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Project Grant No. 1011200), the John Burge Trust, the Myer Foundation, the Aranday Foundation, and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. M.T. and N.R. were supported by Fellowship awards from the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases and by International Research Scholarship awards from The University of Melbourne.