Two-hour detection of MTB and resistance to Rifampicin.

"If you were to inoculate an Xpert® MTB/RIF test at the same time you started preparing your acid fast smears, by the time you finished reading the smears, the Xpert MTB/RIF test result would be ready, telling you if your positive acid fast smear was TB and if the strain was resistant to rifampicin, which is an excellent surrogate marker for MDR-TB. I'm sure Koch and Pasteur would not only be delighted with the technological advance, they would probably say, "It's about time'."
-Fred Tenover, Ph.D.

Cepheid Senior Director of Scientific Affairs

Runs On: GeneXpert System

The Need
Current Testing Methodologies Are Too Slow According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is considered to be vastly under diagnosed today, despite approximately 500,000 new active cases reported in the WHO European region during 2007. This is a direct result of current MTB testing methods requiring weeks to deliver a definitive result, which can lead to patients being left untreated or placed on ineffective therapies. These patients may continue to spread MTB to others in the community, increasing the disease burden.

Drug Resistant Strains
With the worldwide re-emergence of TB, multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug resistant (XDR) strains have become an even greater threat. According to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Control Report 2009, there may be more than 500,000 cases of MDR-TB worldwide. Current testing for drug resistance can take more than 4 weeks, leading to higher mortality and the further spread of MDR strains.

The Solution
Xpert® MTB/RIF
Simultaneous detection of both MTB and rifampicin resistance, a marker for MDR strains Unprecedented sensitivity for detecting MTB - even in smear negative, culture positive specimens Results in two hours; requires no instrumentation other than the GeneXpert® System On-demand results enable physicians to treat rapidly and effectively