title: Active tuberculosis detection by pouched rats in 2014: More than 2,000 new patients found in two countries.
abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major problem in poor countries because sensitive diagnostic tools are unavailable. In 2014, our pouched rats evaluated sputum from 21,600 Tanzanians and 9,048 Mozambicans whose sputum had previously been evaluated by microscopy, the standard diagnostic for TB. Evaluation by the rats revealed 1,412 new patients with active TB in Tanzania and 645 new patients in Mozambique, increases of 39% and 53%, respectively, when compared to detections by microscopy alone. These results provide further support for the applied use of scent-detecting rats.
authors.affiliation: Western Michigan University, Anti-Persoonsmijen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO).
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poling
authors.affiliation: Anti-Persoonsmijen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO).
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valverde
authors.affiliation: Anti-Persoonsmijen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO).
authors.forename: Negussie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beyene
authors.affiliation: Anti-Persoonsmijen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO), Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development.
authors.forename: Christiaan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.affiliation: Anti-Persoonsmijen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO).
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: Anti-Persoonsmijen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO), Sokoine University of Agriculture.
authors.forename: Georgies
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mgode
authors.affiliation: Anti-Persoonsmijen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO), University of Waikato.
authors.forename: Timothy L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009073:Mozambique / Q000453:epidemiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D051381:Rats; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: applied behavior analysis; discrimination training; pouched rats; tuberculosis