New TB Screening Tests Are Faster and More Cost-Effective

Healthcare workers are screened routinely for latent tuberculosis with tuberculin skin testing (TST). U.S. researchers have evaluated whether TST is as cost-effective and as clinically effective for screening unvaccinated and vaccinated healthcare workers as are two interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs; QuantiFERON-TB Gold in Tube test [QFT-GIT] and QuantiFERON-TB Gold test [QFT-G]), which recently received FDA approval. In these tests, a blood sample is incubated with two or three tuberculous antigens, and the release of interferon-γ is measured; only tuberculous-sensitized individuals release interferon-γ. Because the antigens used for testing are not components of BCG vaccines, these newer tests can be used to screen vaccinated individuals…