Authors: Madhukar Pai, MD, PhD—Author and Series Editor
Number of pages: 5
Download (2018, pdf, 313kb)
Overview: This article describes the Initiative for Promoting Affordable, Quality TB tests (IPAQT; www.ipaqt.org), a coalition of private laboratories in India, supported by industry and non-profit groups, that has made several WHO-endorsed TB tests available at more affordable prices to patients in the private sector. General practitioner who manage TB should avoid inaccurate blood-based tests and use WHO-endorsed sputum tests for TB, including LED fluorescence smear microscopy, liquid cultures, line probe assays, and automated, cartridge-based molecular tests (i.e., Xpert MTB/RIF). These tests are validated and backed by strong evidence and WHO policy recommendations. Thanks to IPAQT, their prices have been reduced considerably in the Indian private sector.
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