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Published on: September 5, 2017

T-cell-based diagnosis of neonatal multidrug-resistant latent tuberculosis infection

Luca Richeldi1, Katie Ewer, Monica Losi

  • 1Department of Respiratory Disease, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.

Pediatrics
|January 4, 2007
PubMed

Insights

A new blood test, enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot), detected latent tuberculosis infection in an infant. This test shows promise for diagnosing childhood tuberculosis, even before active disease develops.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Tuberculosis (TB) poses a severe risk to young children, but diagnosing latent infection is challenging due to the low sensitivity of the tuberculin skin test.
  • There is a critical need for accurate diagnostic tools for latent TB in children, as no gold standard currently exists.

Observation:

  • A tuberculin skin test-negative infant, exposed to a mother with multidrug-resistant TB, was monitored using enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot).
  • ELISpot, which measures Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific T cells, became persistently positive in the infant by 6 months of age.

Findings:

  • The infant later developed active tuberculosis despite chemoprophylaxis, with a >10-fold increase in the ELISpot response.
  • This demonstrates ELISpot's ability to detect latent infection with dormant but viable M. tuberculosis bacilli.

Implications:

  • Enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) testing offers a potential breakthrough for diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection in children.
  • Improved diagnostics could lead to earlier interventions and better management of childhood tuberculosis, reducing disease progression.

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