Facts about Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI)

Facts about Tuberculosis (TB)

  • An airborne, highly contagious, infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
  • In Malaysia, 26,168 new TB cases were reported in 2017 (2).

What is latent TB infection (LTBI)?

  • LTBI refers to a person’s exposure to the M. tuberculosis bacterium but they do not show any signs or symptoms of TB disease.
  • It is not contagious, and people can carry it for a very long period until it converts into an active, contagious form of the disease.
  • Treatment of LTBI can prevent conversion into an active form.

Treating LTBI prevents active TB

  • Identification and treatment of LTBI can substantially reduce the risk of development of active disease by as much as 60% (3).

Get yourself checked

Contact investigation may involve:

  • Clinical assessment
  • Chest radiography
  • Tuberculin skin test (TST)
  • Interferon-γ release assay (IGRA).

The modern IGRA blood test –> QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus (QFT®-Plus)

  • Easy to administer
  • Provides accurate and quick results.
  • Approved by the World’s Health Organization Model list of Essential In Vitro Diagnostics (1).

 

Reference:

  1. World Health Organization. (2018) World Health Organization Model List of Essential In Vitro Diagnostics.
  2. Global Tuberculosis Report 2018 http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/en/
  3. Kim, H. W., & Kim, J. S. (2018). Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection and Its Clinical Efficacy. Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases, 81(1), 6-12. doi:10.4046/trd.2017.0052