Tuberculosis contacts but not patients have higher gamma interferon responses to ESAT-6 than do community controls in The Gambia.
Vekemans, J;
Lienhardt, C;
Sillah, JS;
Wheeler, JG;
Lahai, GP;
Doherty, MT;
Corrah, T;
Andersen, P;
McAdam, KP;
Marchant, A;
(2001)
Tuberculosis contacts but not patients have higher gamma interferon responses to ESAT-6 than do community controls in The Gambia.
Infection and immunity, 69 (10).
pp. 6554-6557.
ISSN 0019-9567
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.69.10.6554-6557.2001
Permanent Identifier
Use this Digital Object Identifier when citing or linking to this resource.
The Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen ESAT-6 has been proposed for tuberculosis immunodiagnosis. In The Gambia, 30% of community controls produced gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in response to ESAT-6. Increased proportions of responders and intensities of responses were found in household contacts. Responses that were initially low in tuberculosis patients increased after treatment. An ESAT-6 IFN-gamma assay will be of limited use in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in countries where tuberculosis is endemic. Its role in contact tracing should be evaluated further.
