Global prospects for TB control are challenged by the emergence of drug-resistant strains, especially those that are multidrug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug resistant (XDR). Soon after anti-TB drugs became available in the 1940s came reports of drug resistance among patients undergoing treatment. The prevalence of TB resistance to a single drug was continuously on the rise in several parts of the world, and eventually in the early 1990s, multiple converging factors led to an explosive emergence of MDR-TB, defined as resistance to the two most effective first-line anti-TB agents, Isoniazid and Rifampicin. In 2010, there were an estimated 650 000 cases of MDR-TB.
The threat of tuberculosis has propelled the need of a new tuberculosis diagnostic test system that should be able to do fast and reliable detection and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, with the capability to differentiate it from clinically relevant non-tuberculous mycobacterium species as well as detecting drug resistance especially multidrug resistance.
Singapore based Veredus Laboratories announced the launch of its VereMTB™ multiplexed lab-on-a-chip for the detection of various mutations of mycobacterium responsible for causing tuberculosis as well as nine other similar clinically interesting mycobacterium. The chip identifies the specific mycobacterium within three hours after being presented with a sample of coughed up direct sputum.
The technology doesn’t require culturing the bacteria, a slow process that can extend into days when rapid detection is key. The VereMTB is a nucleic acid-based, Lab-On-Chip (LOC) device which combines multiplex PCR and microarray hybridization assay to detect, differentiate and identify:10 different mycobacterium strains with special emphasis on Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTBC) and its Resistance to Rifampicin and/or Isoniazid from Pulmonary Clinical Specimens or Cultivated Samples (MDR-TB).
Based on STMicroelectronics’ technology, the VereMTB chip is currently undergoing evaluations by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing, China as part of their ongoing program to assess new technologies for TB diagnostics. According to the 2012 World Health Organization report on TB, India and China combined have almost 40 percent of the world’s TB cases, and nearly 60% of multi-drug resistant cases in 2011 were in India, China, and the Russian Federation.
“At the main CDC National TB Reference Lab in Beijing, we have been evaluating VereMTB using samples, collected from across China with a special interest in detecting challenging multi-drug resistant strains that are difficult to detect using other methods,” said Professor Zhao Yanlin Director of National TB Reference Laboratory and Vice Director of the National Center for Tuberculosis Control and Prevention at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “The speed, accuracy and comprehensiveness of the results have been very promising. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Veredus for new breakthroughs in diagnosing TB.”