Tuberculosis test may improve diagnosis

June 2, 2026

Tuberculosis test may improve diagnosis

At a Glance

  • Researchers found that a new portable diagnostic test for tuberculosis produced rapid and accurate results.
  • The new test could offer a low-cost way to more quickly diagnose and treat people across the world.
Young African child getting a tongue swab test.
Tuberculosis diagnoses could be made less than 30 minutes after swabbing the tongue.
Media Lens King / Shutterstock

Tuberculosis is a leading cause of infectious disease-related death worldwide. It usually affects the lungs but can also affect other organs, such as the kidneys, spine, or brain. The disease, which is caused by bacteria, is treatable. But without treatment it can lead to severe illness or death. 

One major challenge in treating tuberculosis is diagnosing it quickly and accurately. In some parts of the world, people do not have access to the laboratory facilities usually needed for accurate testing. Because of this, it may take days or weeks to get test results, and it can be difficult to follow up with patients about their results.

An NIH-funded research team led by Dr. Adithya Cattamanchi at the University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Francisco evaluated a new test designed to address these challenges. They published their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 29, 2026.

The new test, called the MiniDock MTB, uses a simple test card. A sample collected from a patient’s sputum, which is mucus that is coughed up, or from swabbing the tongue is placed on the card. The sample is then analyzed using a low-cost, portable device that can run on batteries. The device detects DNA specific to tuberculosis bacteria and provides results in less than a half hour.

Researchers tested the accuracy and usability of the MiniDock MTB in clinics in seven countries in Asia and Africa. They tested samples from 1,380 participants aged 12 and older with suspected tuberculosis. Of these, 226, or 16.4%, were confirmed to have tuberculosis. MiniDock MTB correctly identified more than 85% of the participants with confirmed tuberculosis using sputum samples and almost 80% using tongue swabs. For both sample types, the false positive rate, or the likelihood that someone who doesn’t have tuberculosis will get a positive test, was less than 2.5%.

The team compared the new test with two commonly used tests. One involves looking for tuberculosis bacteria in sputum with a microscope. The new test was more sensitive than the microscope-based test with both sputum and tongue swabs. The other is a molecular test that, like MiniDock MTB, detects bacterial DNA. MiniDock MTB was as sensitive as the molecular test to the presence of tuberculosis in sputum.

The new test also met performance targets set by the World Health Organization. Health care workers across testing sites rated it as easy to use. It also offers a way to test children and adults who may have difficulty providing a sputum sample.

The findings suggest that MiniDock MTB could provide rapid, accurate tuberculosis diagnosis. This could make it easier for people in resource-poor areas to get timely diagnoses and treatment.

“Patients who today would have to leave a clinic undiagnosed could soon be diagnosed and treated the same day,” Cattamanchi says. “We hope to see more widespread adoption as evidence like ours stacks up.”

—by Laura Manella, Ph.D.

Related Links

References

Pulmonary Tuberculosis Detection with MiniDock MTB Using Swab Samples. Yerlikaya S, Chirwa M, Ajide B, Castro MDM, Ha H, Kato-Maeda M, Kisakye E, Marcelo D, Mochizuki T, Rockman L, Steadman A, Thangakunam B, Bimba JS, Christopher DJ, Muyoyeta M, Phan H, Theron G, Yu C, Kremer K, Phillips PPJ, Nahid P, Denkinger CM, Cattamanchi A, Andama A; R2D2 TB Network and SMART4TB Consortia. N Engl J Med. 2026 Apr 30;394(17):1710-1722. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2509761. PMID: 42054680.

Funding

NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); U.S. State Department; German Federal Ministry of Research, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in the United Kingdom; Department of Biotechnology, India; Gates Foundation.