(BRIEF) Researchers at the University of Southampton have made significant progress in developing a blood test that can identify millions of Americans who are unknowingly spreading tuberculosis (TB). By analyzing blood markers, the study detected a set of six highly expressed proteins. to identify TB infection. This raises hopes for an undeniable diagnostic test that can temporarily and effectively detect TB, helping to prevent its spread, which today kills more than a million people each year. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, mark a milestone in the fight against the global TB pandemic, potentially transforming the way the disease is diagnosed and managed around the world.
(PRESS RELEASE) SOUTHAMPTON, March 23, 2024 – /EuropaWire/ – Scientists have taken a first step towards developing a blood test that could identify millions of people who are unknowingly spreading TB.
A groundbreaking study has found that a group of biomarkers appear at higher levels in infectious patients.
The researchers hope the findings will pave the way for a test that can diagnose and prevent the spread of the estimated 10 million cases per year.
Tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing more than a million people a year, according to the World Health Organization.
Scientists at the University of Southampton, in collaboration with experts from around the world, have carried out the most detailed research ever conducted on blood markers of bacterial infection.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, used a new strategy to identify a set of six highly expressed proteins to identify tuberculosis.
Lead doctor Hannah Schiff, a lung expert in Southampton, said as many as 3 million cases were missed last year, most commonly in developing countries.
He added: “TB remains a global disaster because our efforts to spread it are hampered by inadequate and time-consuming testing that relies on specialized equipment and laboratories.
“A third of those with inflammation go undiagnosed and are still contagious. In our study, we combined a new measurement strategy with in-depth mathematical research to identify those six new markers of TB.
“This could lead to a transformative decision in diagnosing the disease: an indisputable test that detects proteins in the blood whose levels differ between other people with TB, healthy Americans, and those with other respiratory diseases. “
Tuberculosis is transmitted through breathing in small droplets from the cough or sneeze of inflamed people, and basically affects the lungs, it can devastate any component of the body.
Cases in the U. K. rose to around 5,000 last year and are expected to continue to do so in 2024, according to the U. K. Health Security Agency.
The University of Southampton study was conducted with experts from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru.
It was released on the occasion of World TB Day on 24 March, which aims to raise awareness and scale up efforts to end the global TB pandemic.
The study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the Southampton Biomedical Research Centre of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The academics who conducted the research studied proteins found in the blood of other people with active TB in Africa and South America.
They compared the biomarkers with those found in healthy people and patients with lung infections, identifying 118 proteins that differed especially between groups.
The experts then narrowed those findings down to the six proteins that can be used to distinguish patients with contagious tuberculosis from healthy patients or patients with lung diseases.
The findings provide a roadmap for scaling up a TB test as undeniable as the lateral flows used by Covid, said study co-lead Dr. Anna S. Sullivan. Diana Garay-Baquero, also from Southampton.
He added: “The new markers we have discovered are interesting, but the important thing now is to scale them up and turn them into tests that can be used for millions of people who unknowingly transmit TB.
“As the Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed, we forget about highly contagious airborne diseases at our own risk. “
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SOURCE: University of Southampton
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