conclusions here we review the clinical applications, advantages, and limitations of the tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assays and provide an overview of the most recent systematic reviews conducted for the comparison of these tests. context it has been estimated that one-third of the world’s population are suffering from latent tuberculosis infection (ltbi). in order to cont...

Although tuberculin skin testing has been a hallmark of bovine tuberculosis eradication campaigns, it lacks sensitivity, can be confounded by exposure to nontuberculous mycobacteria, and cannot be repeated for 60 days due to desensitization. To overcome these difficulties, an effective whole-blood cellular immunoassay for bovine gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) has been developed. The IFN-gamma tes...

The principal surveillance tool used to control bovine tuberculosis in cattle is the removal of animals that provide a positive response to the tuberculin skin-test. In this study we performed a longitudinal investigation of the immunological and diagnostic consequences of repeated short-interval skin-tests in cattle naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis. Tuberculin skin-test positive cat...

Bovine tuberculosis is an important infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, which is responsible for considerable economic losses. This disease constitutes a serious public health problem. Control programs in most countries, including Brazil, are based on the identification and slaughter of infected animals, as defined by the skin tuberculin test, which has its constraints. In the pre...

AIMS Tissue fibrosis is a common and serious consequence of chronic inflammation. The mechanism linking these two processes is poorly understood. The present study has utilised a human in vivo model of a delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction, the tuberculin Heaf reaction, induced by intradermal tuberculin in BCG immunised subjects, to dissect the relation between these two processes. M...

INTRODUCTION Etanercept (Enbrel), a tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonist, is commonly used for the treatment of a variety of rheumatic diseases. Tuberculosis (TB) infections have been associated with chronic TNF-alpha blocking therapy, and there is concern that such therapy may predispose patients to TB reactivation. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the frequency of latent ...

OBJECTIVES To present an updated review concerning new assays for diagnosing tuberculosis based on in vitro interferon-gamma production by host T cells, and compare them with tuberculin skin test. METHODS A literature review was carried out based on Medline and LILACS databases (2000-2008) searching for the following keywords: tuberculosis, interferon-gamma, quantiFERON, ELISPOT and T-SPOT.TB...

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BACKGROUND Ghana has not conducted a national tuberculin survey or tuberculosis prevalence survey since the establishment of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme. The primary objective of this study was therefore to determine the prevalence of tuberculin skin sensitivity in Ghanaian school children aged 6-10 years in 8 out of 10 regions of Ghana between 2004 and 2006. METHODS Tuberculi...