Product News: QIAGEN to Supply QuantiFERON-TB Tests to Ease Tuberculin Shortage

The German Central Committee against Tuberculosis (DZK) recommended that public health services and clinics should use modern blood tests to screen at-risk children for tuberculosis (TB) infection during a shortage of tuberculin, a protein extract used in TB skin tests.

The recommendation has been published by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the Federal Government’s organization responsible for disease control, in its current “Epidemiologic Bulletin on January 25th.                       

According to the RKI, supplies of the only approved tuberculin in Germany are depleted and are causing significant shortages. Unavailability of the traditional skin test is occurring as the significant influx of refugees from Syria and other countries has resulted in an extensive need for TB testing. About 15-20% of the one million migrants, who have received or are seeking asylum in Germany, are estimated to be children below 16 years of age. For this group, current guidelines require screening ̶ using either TB skin tests or interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) that allow detection of both latent and active TB infections from a small blood sample.

The Bulletin cites the proven accuracy of IGRAs. QIAGEN’s QuantiFERON-TB® Gold (QFT®) and QuantiFERON-TB® Gold Plus (QFT-Plus®) are the world’s leading IGRAs, providing highly accurate detection of latent and active TB infection with results in 24 hours. Migrants from regions with high incidence of TB face an elevated risk of latent infections, which – if untreated – can turn active and become contagious and potentially life threatening. The DZK recommends that adult refugees continue to be screened using x-rays, which allow for the detection of active TB infections only.               

“QIAGEN stands ready to provide QuantiFERON-TB test kits to make up for the lack of availability of tuberculin for skin tests in Germany, said Dr. Masae Kawamura, M.D., Senior Director, QuantiFERON Medical and Scientific Affairs at QIAGEN. “The Committee’s recommendation of IGRAs helps to protect public health by continuing to proactively screen children for TB during this shortage. Around the world, QuantiFERON-TB technology has proven its value as an efficient, cost-effective testing solution to aid in TB control efforts. Screening at-risk populations for latent TB infection allows early treatment and prevention of the active disease, which requires aggressive treatment with antibiotics. Expanding the use of IGRAs to cover adults in the current screening regime would therefore help to further reduce the threat of TB infections.”

QIAGEN partners with governments and health organizations around the world to fight tuberculosis – and continues to develop innovative new technologies. QuantiFERON-TB Gold is the modern standard for accuracy in latent TB infection diagnosis – faster, less labor-intensive and more accurate than the tuberculin skin test. QFT’s demonstrated clinical reliability and simpler administration enhance the accuracy of screening and improve the cost-effectiveness of TB control. In 2015 QIAGEN launched QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus in Europe and other markets as a fourth-generation test with CE-IVD marking. To date, more than 20 million QuantiFERON-TB tests have been distributed globally.

To learn more about QuantiFERON-TB Gold testing technology, please visit www.QuantiFERON.com or visit their company profile at SelectScience.