USING GIANT AFRICAN POUCHED RATS TO DETECT HUMAN TUBERCULOSIS: A REVIEW

Monday, 7th of September 2015

USING GIANT AFRICAN POUCHED RATS TO DETECT HUMAN TUBERCULOSIS: A REVIEW

Using giant african pouched rats to detect human tuberculosis: a review

Alan Poling^1,2,&, Amanda Mahoney², Negussie Beyene², Georgies Mgode^2,3, Bart Weetjens², Christophe Cox², Amy Durgin²

¹Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008, United States of America, ²APOPO, Tanzania, ³Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania

^&Corresponding author
Alan Poling, Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008, United States of America

Abstract below; full text is at http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/21/333/full/

Despite its characteristically low sensitivity, sputum smear microscopy remains the standard for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in resource-poor countries. In an attempt to develop an alternative or adjunct to microscopy, researchers have recently examined the ability of pouched rats to detect TB-positive human sputum samples and the microbiological variables that affect their detection. Ten published studies, reviewed herein, suggest that the rats are able to detect the specific odor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB, and can substantially increase new-case detections when used for second-line TB screening following microscopy. Further research is needed to ascertain the rats ability to detect TB in children and in HIV-positive patients, to detect TB when used for first-line screening, and to be useful in broad-scale applications where cost-effectiveness is a major consideration.