When we think of Tuberculosis (TB), we often picture an adult with a persistent cough. But there is another side that is often left in the shadows, the children who suffer due to poor or late diagnosis.
At Penta, we believe no child should go undiagnosed simply because the medical tools available weren’t designed for them. That is why our Respiratory Working Group is focusing on improving diagnosis Point-of-Contact (PoC) tests and tools for diagnosing tuberculosis.
For decades, the gold standard for diagnosing TB has been testing a patient’s phlegm or sputum. But there’s a catch, infants and young children can’t produce sputum on command. Furthermore, children often have fewer TB bacteria in their bodies, making the disease even harder to detect with standard tests.
Because of this, many children, especially those already fighting HIV, are misdiagnosed with general pneumonia. They receive the wrong treatment while the TB continues to weaken their systems.
This world TB day, we’re highlighting one potential solution to tackle this. TB-LAM tests. This urine based PoC tool detects TB bacteria without the need for invasive procedures or expensive lab equipment. The EMPIRICAL trial, in which Penta is a partner, integrated TB-LAM into the diagnostic process for infants with HIV-associated severe pneumonia. To ensure no case went undetected, the team utilised a comprehensive strategy, combining clinical algorithms and extended microbiological methods with PoC ultrasound and minimally invasive autopsies. Results from the trial are expected to be published soon.
By making diagnostics accessible even in the most remote clinics, we can eliminate the wait-and-see approach and ensure that every child, not matter where they are has a fair shot at a healthy, TB-free future.