HomeXpert MTB/RIF roll-out
Background
Earlier and improved tuberculosis (TB) case detection - including smear-negative disease, often associated with HIV co-infection - as well as expanded capacity to diagnose multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are global priorities for TB control. Conventional laboratory methods are slow and cumbersome and novel technologies for rapid detection are therefore the focus of TB research and development. With support from NIH, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) has partnered with Cepheid, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ, Newark, NY) to develop a TB-specific automated, cartridge-based nucleic amplification assay (Xpert MTB/RIF) based on the GeneXpert multi-disease platform, currently unique in its simplification of molecular testing with fully integrated and automated sample preparation, amplification and detection required for real-time polymerase chain reaction. Xpert MTB/RIF detects M. tuberculosis as well as rifampicin resistance-conferring mutations directly from sputum, in an assay providing results within two hours.
In October 2013, WHO issued updated policy guidance and recommendations:
Expert Group Meeting report on XPERT MTB/RIF 2013
Xpert MTB/RIF Implementation manual: technical and operational ‘how-to’; practical considerations
For more on this story:
WHO monitoring of Xpert MTB/RIF roll-out
Fact sheet on Xpert MTB/RIF - October 2014
Briefing note on TBXpert project - September 2013
Training Package on Xpert MTB/RIF
Practical Guide to Implementation of Truenat tests
Practical implementation of LF-LAM for detection of active TB in people living with HIV
GLI TB Laboratory Safety Handbook
Practical considerations for implementation of the Abbott RealTime MTB and Abbott RealTime MTB RIF/INH tests
Practical considerations for implementation of the BD MAX MDR-TB test
Practical considerations for implementation of the Roche cobas MTB and cobas MTB-RIF/INH assays
Practical considerations for implementation of the Bruker-Hain Lifesciences FluoroType MTB and FluoroType MTBDR
Practical considerations for implementation of the Cepheid Xpert MTB/XDR test
Practical considerations for implementation of the Nipro Genoscholar PZA-TB II assay
Practical considerations for implementation of the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (TB-LAMP) test