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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoprobes for Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis Detection
Published on: February 16, 2020
Using giant African pouched rats to detect tuberculosis in human sputum samples: 2009 findings
Alan Poling1, Bart J Weetjens, Christophe Cox
1Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling, Morogoro, Tanzania. alan.poling@wmich.edu
Abstract:
In 2009, giant African pouched rats trained to detect tuberculosis (TB) evaluated sputum samples from 10,523 patients whose sputum had previously been evaluated by smear microscopy. Microscopists found 13.3% of the patients to be TB-positive. Simulated second-line screening by the rats revealed 620 new TB-positive patients, increasing the case detection rate by 44%. These data suggest that the rats may be useful for TB detection in developing countries, although further research is needed.
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