Blood-based biomarkers as a promising tool for early detection of incipient TB in people living with HIV

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one-quarter of the world's population is estimated to be infected by TB bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which can cause tuberculosis (TB). Although it is preventable and curable, 1.5 million people die from the infectious lung disease each year. TB is also a leading cause of death for people living with HIV. Most people infected with TB bacteria remain in a stage of latent TB and never develop TB disease. However, about 5 to 15% of people with latent TB may develop active TB disease in the future and potentially spread it to others. As X-ray and CT diagnostics are too unspecific for early and accurate detection of subclinical TB disease, there are to date no diagnostic tools to assess TB disease activity in living patients during clinically latent TB or during a HIV/TB coinfection.