New test gives one-hour TB diagnosis

[cory777]

Source: AFP

LONDON (AFP) – Scientists have developed a new test which can diagnose tuberculosis in one hour, potentially helping to curb the spread of the disease, a health agency said in a study Wednesday.

The "ultra-rapid" test is far quicker than traditional methods, which can take up to eight weeks and mean that patients, who are often from transient populations, move on untreated, said the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

"We?re excited to have developed this new test because it means we can potentially diagnose someone at a TB clinic within an hour and start them immediately on the treatment they need," said Cath Arnold of the HPA, who led the study.

"This new test could really have an impact where it is most needed."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100915/wl_uk_afp/healthmedicinebritaintuberculosis

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[kestrel91316]

1. Now all we need is a way to get ALL TB patients to comply with the

frickin' medication protocol.

[Submariner]

2. I had to take a pill a day for a year

That was a total bitch! Being in the Navy at the time I was given a direct order, under penalty of prosecution, to take the pill a day. A Navy Corpsman would call me frequently and ask if I was taking the damn pill. I had been exposed to an old WWII Chief who had TB and evidently I caught the germ from him.

I never felt sickly, which made taking the damn pill every freakin' day something that was easy to forget. So, I have sympathy with the people you may be talking about, if they were only exposed to the bug, and were not active TB patients, which I know nothing about because my TB problem did not go that far.