WHO gives first approval of TB test

The World Health Organization announced Thursday it had given a first-ever green light to a test for tuberculosis -- a disease which killed 1.25 million people last year.

WHO prequalification aims to ensure that key health products meet global standards for quality, safety and efficacy.

The WHO already recommended the test, but prequalification means that UN agencies such as UNICEF, or others like the Gavi vaccine alliance, have a simpler pathway to procure and distribute a product in countries with limited resources.

A preventable and curable disease, TB is caused by bacteria and most often affects the lungs. It is spread through the air when people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit.

In October, the WHO said a record 8.2 million new tuberculosis cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2023 -- the highest number since it began global TB monitoring in 1995.

And with 1.25 million related deaths, TB probably returned to being the world's leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, following three years in which it was replaced by Covid-19, the WHO added.

The test detects the genetic material of the bacterium that causes TB in spit samples, and provides an accurate result within hours.

The WHO says the accurate and early detection of TB, especially drug-resistant strains, is a critical global health priority.