Abstract
Background The presence of latent tuberculosis is routinely assessed by tuberculin skin test (TST), which detects a cell mediated immune response to the injected tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD). Although TST has been in use for over a century, its limitations include poor specificity (i.e. numerous false positive results), the need to examine the site 48-72 hours after injection and the subjective interpretation of results (i.e. estimation of the diameter of induration). Recently, an in vitro assay has been investigated as an alternative to overcome limitations posed by TST. This assay, also known as gamma interferon release assay (GIRA) detects the release of gamma interferon from sensitized lymphocytes upon exposure to mycobacterium TB antigen coated tubes.
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