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Updated: Jul 23, 2025

Imaging Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Mice with Reporter Enzyme Fluorescence
Published on: February 26, 2018
High resolution imaging and five-year tuberculosis contact outcomes
Hanif Esmail1,2,3, Anna K Coussens1,4,5, Friedrich Thienemann1,6
1Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, Republic of South Africa.
Subclinical tuberculosis (TB) disease can be detected using PET/CT scans years before symptoms appear. This finding challenges current TB paradigms and suggests new screening strategies for tuberculosis.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Radiology
- Public Health
Background:
- The progression of tuberculosis (TB) during its clinical latency phase is not fully understood.
- Current screening methods for TB may miss early-stage disease.
Conclusions:
- Subclinical TB lesions are detectable via PET/CT up to four years before microbiological or symptomatic diagnosis.
- These findings challenge the traditional latent/active TB model.
- The results have significant implications for improving TB screening and management strategies.
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15:28A Microscopic Phenotypic Assay for the Quantification of Intracellular Mycobacteria Adapted for High-throughput/High-content Screening
Published on: January 17, 2014
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