Rapid Tuberculosis Test Could Transform Care, Treatment

Facilities across Kenya will now have a faster way to test patients for tuberculosis.

According to the website AllAfrica.com, health clinics across the country will now be using GeneXpert to test for the disease.

"This machine will help us capture the cases at an early stage and reduce the number of cases that go undetected," said Health Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri.

The new method detects the presence of the tuberculosis bacteria, and provides results within two hours. In addition, the test will tell if the TB bacterium of the person has resistance to one of the common treatment drugs, rifampicin.

Previously, diagnosting TB included taking a chest x-ray and analyzing a person's sputum under a microscope, according to the article.