(QuantiFERON TB-Gold Plus) (promo)
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, most commonly affecting the lungs but capable of involving other organs as well, such as the kidneys, bones, lymph nodes and brain. Despite advances in modern medicine, it remains one of the leading causes of death from infectious diseases worldwide
The primary transmission route is through contact with a person who has active tuberculosis.
An infected individual may develop the disease within a period ranging from several weeks to several months; however, most infected people do not become ill. Instead, the disease enters a latent phase. Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a hidden form of tuberculosis that is not contagious and presents no clinical symptoms. It can persist in the body for a long time, and in some individuals, the disease may become active months or even years later. The key goal of LTBI diagnostics is to detect carriers of the infection in a timely manner and provide preventive treatment to avoid progression to active tuberculosis.
QuantiFERON test (QuantiFERON-TB Gold, IGRA) is a highly accurate laboratory assay used to detect latent (hidden), pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis infection and to assess the risk of developing active disease.