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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

An Automated Culture System for Use in Preclinical Testing of Host-Directed Therapies for Tuberculosis
Published on: August 16, 2021
Unrecognised tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients: sputum culture is a useful tool
S Swaminathan1, C N Paramasivan, S R Kumar
1Division of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. doctorsoumya@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Diagnosis of tuberculosis is challenging, especially in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive persons who may have atypical clinical and radiographic features. We report the isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from sputum samples of 10 (4%) HIV-positive persons who were asymptomatic with normal chest radiographs and negative sputum smears for acid-fast bacilli. Six of them had strongly positive tuberculin reactions while four were severely immunosuppressed. Our observation highlights the utility of routine sputum culture in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in high-risk individuals.
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