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Updated: Mar 2, 2026

Diagnosing Pulmonary Tuberculosis with the Xpert MTB/RIF Test
Published on: April 9, 2012
[Tuberculosis in general practice in Belgium : What's new?]
B Legius1, V Ninane1, I Muylle1
1Service de Pneumologie, C.H.U. Saint Pierre, Rue Haute 322, Bruxelles, Belgium.
Abstract:
Tuberculosis is still an important disease in Belgium, mainly in big agglomerations. For this reason, knowledge of this entity by a general practitioner is very important. Genetic tests able to identify the species of Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been developed in recent years, but also identification of resistance to 1st and 2nd line treatment through genetic methods has been developed. The quick availability of results of this tests compared to the standard tests is a big advantage. Treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis hasn't changed recently. In contrast a lot has changed in the landscape of multidrug resistant tuberculosis with the development of 2nd line drugs and shortening of treatment duration in specific cases of multidrug resistant tuberculosis.
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