title: Diagnostic test needs for evaluating antituberculosis vaccines.
abstract: To aid in the evaluation of preexposure and postinfection vaccines to prevent tuberculosis, diagnostic tests are needed that can clearly distinguish immunologic protection from vaccine failure in a timely manner. The currently available tests to detect infected persons (tuberculin skin-test) and confirm active disease (conventional culture methods) have limitations in specificity, sensitivity, or timeliness. Research to identify (1) surrogate markers of infection, disease, or protection and (2) stage-specific antigens or immune responses holds some promise for the development of new tests that can distinguish the various outcomes of an infection or a vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Division of AIDS, STD, and Tuberculosis Laboratory Research, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. tms1@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Shinnick
mesh_terms: D001500:BCG Vaccine; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine