Trotz bewährter Testverfahren bleiben viele Tuberkuloseerkrankungen unerkannt – mit
gravierenden Folgen für die Betroffenen und die öffentliche Gesundheit. Dieser Beitrag
gibt einen Überblick über neue diagnostische Methoden, die das Potenzial haben, die
Tuberkulose-Diagnostik schneller, präziser und breiter verfügbar zu machen.
Abstract
Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death by a single infectious agent worldwide,
with over 10 million cases annually. Despite global efforts, delayed or missed diagnoses
continue to fuel transmission and mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings.
This review outlines both the current diagnostic standards – microscopy, culture,
and nucleic acid amplification tests – and highlights promising innovations aimed
at improving diagnosis of tuberculosis disease. Novel approaches include stool polymerase
chain reaction (PCR), CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-based
detection of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), transcriptomic signatures, molecular
bacterial load assay (MBLA), lipoarabinomannan (LAM) detection in urine or sputum,
and non-invasive sampling techniques using exhaled breath condensate, face masks or
oral swabs. Furthermore, advancements in imaging technologies and AI (artificial intelligence)-based
tools may enhance diagnostic accuracy. Together, these developments have the potential
to accelerate and simplify tuberculosis diagnostics in the future.
Schlüsselwörter
Diagnostik der Tuberkulose - CRISPR-basierter cfDNA-Nachweis - Molecular Bacterial
Load Assay (MBLA) - Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) - Nicht-invasive Diagnostik
Keywords
Tuberculosis diagnosis - CRISPR-based cfDNA detection - Molecular bacterial load assay
(MBLA) - Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) - Non-invasive diagnosis
