Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026
Diagnosing Pulmonary Tuberculosis with the Xpert MTB/RIF Test
Published on: April 9, 2012
Successes, challenges and lessons from a novel deployment of Xpert(®) MTB/RIF at a major South African public event
L Page-Shipp1, W Stevens2, D Clark1
1The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Abstract:
In a mobile deployment of Xpert(®) MTB/RIF (Xpert) at the public event for 2012 South African World TB Day, Xpert testing was offered to tuberculosis (TB) symptomatic clients from gold mining and surrounding communities. Considerations before implementation included effective TB symptom screening; safe, effective sputum collection; uninterrupted electricity supply; stringent instrument verification and provision of on-site results. Public event Xpert testing is feasible; however, the case-finding rate was very low (0.7%). We recommend exploring enhanced symptom screening algorithms to improve pre-test probability, cost-effectiveness analysis, exploring alternate electrical fail-safes and on-site data connectivity and improving management of client expectations.
