New guidelines released by the World Health Organization(WHO) update several recommendations on the systematic screening of tuberculosis(TB) disease. This will help national TB programmes, public and private healthcare providers, funders and other stakeholders improve actions to detect TB earlier and close gaps in prevention and care.
It is estimated that close to three million people with TB are not diagnosed or reported annually around the world. Improved TB screening using new tools and approaches to reach all people with care could help bridge this gap. Measures like screening need to be stepped up rapidly to reach the global target of treating at least 40 million people with TB by 2022.
The updated guidance avails of the latest evidence and best available practices on new approaches to screening of people at risk, the role of new technologies such as computer-aided detection(CAD) to interpret chest radiography and the use of molecular rapid diagnostics for screening. The guidelines will be accompanied by an operational guide to facilitate their rollout.
For reference:
