The World Health Organization (WHO) would like to announce an upcoming Guideline Development Group meeting on the use of (1) a new class of technologies - near point-of-care (NPOC) molecular tests for the diagnosis of TB that differ from other WHO-recommended diagnostics in their level of complexity, robustness, and intended settings of use, (2) new easy-to-collect sample types (i.e., tongue swabs) with the potential to expand access to testing services, and (3) a novel testing strategy (i.e., pooling of respiratory samples for low-complexity automated nucleic acid amplification testing) that could increase testing capacity without the need for additional tests, reduce program costs, and speed time to results by reducing testing volumes.
The objectives of the meeting are to assess the available evidence on the:
- Diagnostic accuracy for the detection of TB with or without rifampicin resistance (RR);
- NPOC-NAATs on respiratory sample for TB diagnosis
- NPOC-NAATs on tongue swabs
- LC-aNAATs on tongue swabs
- LC-aNAATs on pooled respiratory samples
- Impact of above-mentioned diagnostic classes/approaches on patient-important outcomes;
- Costs and cost-effectiveness of the introduction of above-mentioned diagnostic classes/approaches for detection of TB and RR-TB in low and middle income country settings;
- Feasibility, acceptability, and user preferences regarding the use of above-mentioned diagnostic classes/approaches for detection of TB and DR-TB in low and middle income country settings.
To address the question of the use of molecular technologies in clinical care and programmatic management of TB and DR-TB, WHO’s department for HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections will convene a Guideline Development Group meeting from 10-14 November 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Find more detailed information here.