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TB diagnostics and laboratory strengthening

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• Global Laboratory Initiative (GLI)
• Xpert MTB/RIF roll-out

WHO policy statements

WHO policy statement: automated real-time nucleic acid amplification technology for rapid and simultaneous detection of tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance: Xpert MTB/RIF assay

• English
• French
• Russian

• WHO policy statement: Use of tuberculosis interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) in low- and middle-income countries
• WHO policy statement: Commercial serodiagnostic tests for diagnosis of tuberculosis [pdf 809kb]
• Framework for implementing new tuberculosis diagnostics, 2010
  pdf, 943kb
• WHO policy statement: Same-day diagnosis of tuberculosis by microscopy [pdf 204kb]
• WHO policy statement: Fluorescent light-emitting diode (LED) microscopy for diagnosis of tuberculosis [pdf 203kb]
• WHO policy statement: Noncommercial culture and drug-susceptibility testing methods for screening patients at risk for multidrugresistant tuberculosis [pdf 228kb]
• WHO policy statement: Molecular line probe assays for rapid screening of patients at risk of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (English and Russian), 2008
• Policy guidance on drug-susceptibility testing (DST) of second-line antituberculosis drugs (English and Russian), 2008, and supporting documents
• Policy on liquid media for culture and DST, 2007
• Policy on definition of a new sputum smear-positive TB Case, 2007
• Policy on reduction of number of smears for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB, 2007
• Moving research findings into new WHO policies

Supporting documents

Rapid Implementation of the Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic test. Technical and operational “how-to” practical considerations [pdf 1.3Mb]

• English
• French
• Russian

Checklist of prerequisites to country implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF and key action points at country level [pdf 364kb]

• English
• French
• Russian

• The use of Molecular Line Probe Assay for the detection of resistance to second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs: Expert group meeting report, February 2013
• Use of IGRAs in tuberculosis control in low- and middle-income settings: Expert group meeting report, 20-21 July 2010 [pdf 2.8Mb]
• Commercial serodiagnostic tests for diagnosis of tuberculosis: Expert Group meeting report, 22 July 2010 [pdf 1.37Mb]
• Approaches to improve sputum smear microscopy for tuberculosis diagnosis: Expert group meeting report. Geneva, 31 October 2009
  pdf, 1.76Mb
• Non-commercial culture methods and microbacteriophage-based assays for rapid screening of patients at risk of drug-resistant tuberculosis: Expert group meeting report. Geneva, 3 November 2009
  pdf, 694kb