National TB elimination programme includes Mylab's advanced diagnostic kit

By Liam On Dec 4, 2023

The National TB Elimination Program includes Mylab's PathoDetect TM MTB RIF & INH Resistance Detection Kit. This multi-drug resistant tuberculosis test has now been integrated into the Ni-kshay portal, in line with the country's efforts to eliminate tuberculosis by 2025.

This manual intervention-free test offers opportunities for the rapid and accurate identification of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), an obstacle in the global effort to eradicate tuberculosis. The test is also intended to detect resistance to Rifampicin (RIF) and Isoniazid (INH), two first-line drugs that are crucial for effective treatment of tuberculosis.

India carries a significant number of tuberculosis cases, with the annual number of tuberculosis cases expected to increase by 19 percent in 2021. MDR-TB poses an even greater challenge, with India accounting for a quarter of the global burden. Timely and accurate diagnosis of MDR-TB is crucial for effective treatment and reducing its impact.

Commenting on this, Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Mylab Discovery Solutions said, “The availability of MTB on the Ni-kshay platform represents a milestone in India's fight against tuberculosis. It will be helpful for the government authorities to report the cases of tuberculosis. We have committed our efforts to providing the most comprehensive portfolio of solutions that address the critical aspects of tuberculosis screening, detection and prevention.

This includes the inclusion of our indigenous latent TB test, Cy-TB, into the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), as well as the integration of the MTB RIF & INH Resistance Detection Kit into NTEP, along with an AI-enabled portable ray machine for TB screening.”

First print: December 4, 2023 | 4:05 PM IST