TMG Digital/The Time reports that a new urine-based test being used to diagnose tuberculosis (TB)‚ which is similar to those used to determine pregnancy‚ could save thousands of lives in SA.  

Researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) found that the TB-LAM urine test was a "simple and inexpensive" way to test for TB among hospitalised patients with HIV.  Researcher Graeme Meintjes said that the findings could reduce mortality among HIV-infected patients admitted to hospital by speeding up the diagnosis of TB and that the findings “challenge the dogma that the first place to look for TB is in the sputum."  In 2014, TB overtook HIV as the number-one killer of all infectious diseases in SA and globally.  According to Stats SA‚ TB killed more than 33,000 people in SA in 2015‚ and the incident rate locally was 520 per 100,000 of the population.

• Read this report in full at BusinessLive
• See too, Drug-resistant TB strains threatening fight against disease, at TimesLive

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