DATE: August 11, 2020
TIME: 9:00am PDT
The goal of TB elimination, less than 1 case per million people per year, can only be achieved through a concerted effort to detect and treat persons infected with TB, which includes those persons with latent TB infection (LTBI). Persons with LTBI have been exposed to TB and although they are not infectious, they are at risk of progressing to active TB disease. Therefore, laboratory tests that can detect persons with LTBI play an essential role. A common way to test for exposure to TB is with a TB skin test (TST). Alternatively, there are blood tests, Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRAs). Both methods rely on detecting a person’s immune response if they have been exposed to TB. However, there are some advantages to IGRA testing, particularly since this testing is performed in a controlled laboratory environment and elicits a more specific immune response. This presentation will discuss the pros and cons of performing IGRA testing as part of the TB testing program and the impact of recent changes in IGRA testing methodology.
Learning Objectives:
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