Science Journal of Medicine and Clinical Trials
June 2013,Volume 2013, ISSN: 2276-7487
© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research Article
Was the WHO Ban on TB Serodiagnosis Justified?
Roland F. Maes
Accepted 20 May, 2013; Available Online 4 June, 2013
doi: 10.7237/sjmct/292
Abstract:
The WHO banned in 2011 the use of serological tests for the detection of antibodies against mycobacteria. This ban rests on a meta analysis that acknowledged the disparity in accuracy and specificity of results observed in various studies using this technique. The meta analysis consisted in an evaluation of published studies of widely divergent quality and drew thereupon conclusions not on the quality of the studies analysed but on the quality of the serological test itself. Serology is a very useful complementary means in the diagnostic and prognostic of mycobacterial infections.
Keyword:Tuberculosis, TB-serology, Level I evidence, TB diagnostic, TB prognostic.