ndia has announced a goal of universal access to quality tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment. A number of novel diagnostics could help meet this important goal. The rollout of one such diagnostic, Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) is being considered, but if Xpert is used mainly for people with HIV or high risk of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in the public sector, population-level impact may be limited.

Confirmation of a diagnosis of tuberculosis in children (aged

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most complex, persistent and controversial problems facing the British cattle industry, costing the country an estimated £100 million per year. The low sensitivity of the standard diagnostic test leads to considerable ambiguity in determining the main transmission routes of infection, which exacerbates the continuing scientific debate. In turn this uncertainty fuels the fierce public and political disputes on the necessity of controlling badgers to limit the spread of infection.

Since the introduction of chemotherapy for treating tuberculosis, political commitment and stable, sufficient funding have been the primary predictors of success for tuberculosis-control programs, and their absence has resulted in tuberculosis epidemics. Over the past decade, the federal funding for tuberculosis-control programs in the United States has decreased by more than 15%, even without adjusting for inflation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.