1 2 This requires knowledge of who is latently or asymptomatically infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

TB immunoreactivity cannot distinguish cleared from persistent infection, emphasising the urgent need for tests that can identify people with asymptomatic infectionsĪ critical component of the World Health Organization’s End TB strategy is the prevention of active tuberculosis (TB) by treating people with latent TB infection. Most people with TB immunoreactivity do not develop active TB upon immunosuppression, suggesting that they have cleared their infection while retaining immunological memory to it

Longitudinal studies and clinical trials show that this TB immunoreactivity can persist after curative treatment The prevalence of latent TB infection is inferred from tests that detect immunoreactivity to mycobacterial antigens rather than live bacteria and from mathematical modelling Two billion people worldwide are thought to be asymptomatically (latently) infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and at risk of developing active tuberculosis (TB)

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