ABSTRACT
Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is a crucial but often overlooked aspect to control the global tuberculosis epidemic. Since the declaration of tuberculosis as a major public health epidemic in 1993, it became evident that the lack of suitable diagnostics was a major obstacle for early identification and clinical management. Ninety percent of the cases in the world occur in 20 countries, which are known as the high-TB-burden countries [1]. These countries have a large number of cases resulting from a combination of high incidence (e.g. Ethiopia), moderate incidence but large populations (e.g. Brazil) or high incidence and a large population (e.g. India). Most of these countries also have limited resources for diagnosis, and the test most frequently used is still smear microscopy. A substantial proportion of the world’s estimated tuberculosis cases are undiagnosed each year or are diagnosed at an advanced disease stage, when significant transmission has occurred in the community.
