A new tuberculosis test costs only $4, uses a tongue swab, and delivers results in 30 minutes via a portable device. The WHO recommends it for communities without laboratories. For citizens, this means fast and accessible diagnosis, leaving behind the sputum method that fails in many patients. Although it does not detect drug-resistant tuberculosis, it improves early detection and reduces the number of untreated people, a practical advance for global health. 🩺
How the portable device that detects the bacteria works 🔬
The device uses a molecular amplification technique similar to PCR, but in a compact format and without the need for refrigeration. The swab collects cells from the tongue, where the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria leaves detectable traces. The sample is processed in a disposable cartridge that, inserted into the device, delivers the result in half an hour. This technology eliminates dependence on centralized laboratories and allows its use in rural or low-resource areas, where diagnosis previously could take weeks or simply not occur.
Goodbye to the sputum jar: the tongue to the rescue 😅
Finally, science has heard our pleas: you will no longer have to cough as if you were about to expel a lung to fill a jar that you will then look at with disgust. Now a tongue swab is enough, like when you get the covid test, but without the taste of a cheap swab. Of course, it does not detect drug-resistant tuberculosis, but hey, at least you will know if you have the regular kind in the time it takes you to queue for coffee. An advance that, ironically, arrives just when many had already lost hope of spitting with dignity.