• Nuttada Panpradist, PhD, Lucent International Research Collaboration, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). About a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with TB. About 5–10% of people infected with TB have symptoms and develop TB disease. M. tb causes TB disease in 10 million people annually and is responsible for 1.6 million deaths. 80% of the disease burden occurs in low- and middle-income countries. Notably, Thailand is among the top 20 countries with a high TB burden of 153 cases reported per 100,000 people. Tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in Thailand, with an incidence rate three times higher than the global average rate. It is estimated that 12,000 people die annually due to TB. Aligning with the World Health Organization Global End TB Plan, Thailand launched its Operational Plan to End TB (2017-2021), prioritizing strategies to expedite TB case finding to ensure complete coverage of at-risk populations (i.e., the elderly, prisoners, and people living with HIV).

1) To demonstrate that TB DNA can be detected in non-sputum samples using a quality control panel

2) To evaluate this protocol on non-sputum specimens (i.e., blood and urine) collected in Thailand.