The tuberculin skin test has been used for the diagnosis of bovine and human tuberculosis (TB) for over a hundred years. However, the specificity of the test is compromised by vaccination with the Mycobacterium bovis-derived vaccine strain bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Since current promising vaccines against bovine TB are based on heterologous prime-boost combinations that include BCG, there ...

The total blood lymphocyte proliferation assay (TLP) was evaluated as a screening test for infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and was compared with the tuberculin (Mantoux) skin test. The results of TLP assays performed on 33 patients with tuberculosis and 37 non-tuberculous subjects were compared with results of skin tests performed in the previous year. There was a high correlation bet...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of cutaneous anergy in pregnant and nonpregnant women who are seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus. METHODS AND MATERIALS The medical records of 159 women seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus were reviewed. Demographic characteristics and tuberculin skin test results were abstracted from the chart. Tuberculin skin testing was performed b...

The tuberculin skin test is the method of choice for tuberculosis surveillance in livestock ruminants. The exact definition of the biological activity of bovine tuberculin purified protein derivatives (bovine tuberculin PPDs) is essential for the reliability of a test system. PPDs consist of heterogeneous mixtures of mycobacterial antigens, making it difficult to determine their potency in vitr...

541 animals from three dairy farms () were firstly screened for bovine tuberculosis by tuberculin skin testing, out of which 71 (13.12%) animals were found tuberculin reactors. The serum samples of 71 tuberculin positive104 tuberculin negative and 363 non tuberculin tested animals were then evaluated by Purified Protein Derivative (PPD)-ELISA. PPD-ELISA yielded 57.74%, 8.65% and 24.24% seroposi...

BACKGROUND Granuloma annulare is a benign inflammatory disease of the skin. The etiology and pathogenesis of the disease are not yet determined, but some authors have proposed that it might be associated with a variety of underlying conditions such as thyroid disorders, diabetes mellitus and positive tuberculin skin test. OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to find the probable relationship be...

BACKGROUND M. tuberculosis remains one of the world's deadliest pathogens in part because of its ability to establish persistent, latent infections, which can later reactivate to cause disease. In regions of the globe where disease is endemic, as much as 50% of the population is thought to be latently infected, complicating diagnosis and tuberculosis control. The tools most commonly used for di...

CONTEXT Universal tuberculin skin testing of children has been shown to be costly and inefficient. In response, several authorities have recommended targeted screening based on epidemiological risk. In 1996, the New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH) developed questions to identify children who require a tuberculin skin test. OBJECTIVE To determine the sensitivity, specificity, and predi...

To the Editor: In their review article, Getahun et al. (May 28 issue)1 provide a useful overview of issues surrounding latent tuberculosis infection. However, newly published data regarding the performance of the T-SPOT.TB assay call into question the supposition that false conversions and reversions are more common with interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) than with tuberculin skin tests.2 Spec...