Tuberculosis serology warning

In keeping with our policy of keeping patient interest paramount we at Toprani Advanced Lab Systems have discontinuned Tuberculosis serology tests as per WHO guide lines.

 20 July 2011 | Geneva | 

WHO has called for countries to ban the use of serological (blood) tests to diagnose active TB disease in a policy issued today, which described the results from these blood tests as inaccurate and a major risk to the health of patients.
Despite the wide use of these blood tests, evidence reviewed by a WHO expert group and published today concluded that "commercial serological tests provide inconsistent and imprecise estimates" and that "it is strongly recommended that these tests not be used for the diagnosis of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB."
More than a million TB blood tests (also known as serodiagnostics or serological tests) are carried out every year, usually at a substantial cost to patients.
Today's recommendation does not apply to serological tests for latent TB infection, currently under review by WHO and findings expected to be released next month.

download the original pdf document

India Alert againt blood tests for Tuberculosis

India’s health ministry has issued an unprecedented warning against the use of  blood tests to detect antibodies to tuberculosis widely used in the private health care sector despite abundant evidence that they are unreliable and may endanger patients’ lives.

The health ministry plans to circulate its advisory against the tests to medical associations across India amid concerns that about 1.5 million patients suspected to be infected by TB are taking the unnecessary tests each year on recommendations of private practitioners.

India’s decision to warn the public about the blood tests for active TB disease follows a scientific review by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a similar first-ever negative policy advisory from the WHO urging countries to ban the blood tests.

“It’s sad that such tests with no predictive value at all are so widely used in our private sector,” said Ashok Kumar, the head of the TB division in the health ministry. The tests are considered unreliable as they lead to unacceptably high levels of false positive and false negative results.

more . . .

© Toprani Advanced Lab Systems, 2011
  Suflam Appt, 10 Haribhakti Colony, Racecourse, Vadodara - Guj 390007 India

contact: info@topranilabs.com