�Students attendance US
colleges that command tuberculosis (TB) testing will now benefit from
interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) such as QuantiFERON(R)-TB Gold
(QFT(TM)), with the release of update TB testing guidelines from the
American College Health Association (ACHA). In the past, students would
have been tested with the tuberculin skin test (TST) which is known to
lose from false-positive results due to cross-reactivity with BCG vaccine
and commonly encountered environmental non-tuberculous mycobacteria.
False-positive TST responses particularly plague students from high TB
incidence countries as many of them are immunized with BCG at birth.
Reading a TST reply is subjective and gravid discrepancies in
interpretation tin occur betwixt trained professionals. These limitations
of the TST lav now be overcome through use of QFT.
Studies have shown that QFT is more accurate than the TST as it is not
affected by BCG inoculation exposure to non-tuberculous mycobacteria.
Greater accuracy means universities have to spend less money and time
during the screening process. It streamlines the admission process and
provides easier test administration for both universities and students as
only one aesculapian consultation is required; results are objective and hind end be
usable within 24 hours. Most importantly, treatment is dispensed to
individuals truly infected with TB.
Each twelvemonth US universities/colleges host about 500,000
international students. Many of these students come from high TB incidence
areas within Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central and South America.
The ACHA guidelines build on those issued by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) which land that QFT "can be used in all
lot in which the TST is presently used" The ACHA recommends
screening all incoming students, but particularly targeting those at
increased risk for TB, which includes students from countries with a high
incidence of TB disease (greater than or equal to 20 cases / C,000
population). These students should be tested for latent TB infection (with
either QFT or the TST), to reduce the risk of developing active TB disease.
Additionally the ACHA guidelines recommend that health profession students,
whether incoming or continuing, should be tested annually.
QFT is being used by a growing number of US colleges and universities
including the University of Tennessee Health Science Center which published
the first base report of a college TB controller program utilizing QFT (Vesser et
al 2007). The report showed that QFT can be successfully enforced and is
well accepted as an addition to a campus-wide TB surveillance program.
References
ACHA Guidelines-Tuberculosis Screening and Targeted Testing of College
and University Students.
Centers for Disease Control MMWR Dec 16 2005, Vol. 54, No. RR-15.
Veeser PI, Smith PK, Handy B, Martin SR.
Tuberculosis screening on a health scientific discipline campus: purpose of
QuantiFERON-TB Gold test for students and employees. J Am Coll Health 2007;
56:175-80.
About QuantiFERON(R)-TB Gold (QFT(TM)):
QFT -- a simple blood test -- is the first major advance in TB
diagnosis since the introduction of the tuberculin skin test (TST) all over 100
years ago. The QFT test is based on mensuration of a cell-mediated immune
response in TB- septic individuals. The T-cells of these individuals are
supersensitive to TB, and reply to stimulation with peptides simulating those
expressed by the TB causing bacterium, secreting a cytokine called
interferon-gamma. QFT accurately measures the interferon-gamma response in
a sensitive enzyme assay. QFT is unaffected by previous BCG vaccination and
most other mycobacteria. Unlike the TST, it requires only unitary patient
call, is a controlled science laboratory test, and provides an objective,
consistent result that is not subject to interpretation based on a
patient's relation risk factors for TB exposure.
To find a laboratory that provides QFT testing, visit
http://www.quantiferon.com
About Cellestis:
Cellestis is a listed Australian biotech company commercializing
QuantiFERON technology for diagnosis TB and other diseases worldwide. The
Company operates through subsidiaries in the USA, Europe and Australia.
For more information, visit http://www.cellestis.com or delight contact ane of our
local spokespersons at:
Cellestis Limited
http://www.cellestis.com
More information
