THE IMPORTANCE OF QUANTIFERON-TB GOLD TEST IN DIAGNOSING LATENT TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION

Аннотация

Latent tuberculosis infection remains one of the most persistent global public health threats. It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that approximately 25 percent of the world's population is infected with latent tuberculosis bacilli. Although individuals with latent tuberculosis do not show clinical symptoms and are not contagious, around 5 to 10 percent of them will eventually develop active tuberculosis disease during their lifetime, particularly when the immune system is weakened. Therefore, early detection and preventive treatment of latent tuberculosis infection are critical components in breaking the transmission cycle of tuberculosis. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold test has become an important diagnostic tool for identifying latent tuberculosis infection, particularly in settings where Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination is common, which can reduce the specificity of the traditional Tuberculin Skin Test (TST). This interferon-gamma release assay provides greater accuracy, faster results, and fewer false positives caused by previous BCG vaccination or exposure to non-tuberculous mycobacteria.