This multinational study aims to validate the use of a novel 2nd generation test (2G test) for the diagnostic and tracking of drug resistant Tuberculosis. The 2G test is a semi-Point of Care (POC) test and defined as an improved phenotypic drug susceptibility-testing (DST) tool that can diagnose resistance to 11 different anti-Tuberculosis drugs with a fast turnaround time of 14 days. This is an priority an improvement from the current phenotypic DST used in mid- and low-income regions with high TB burden, where solid culture DST (LJ DST) alone or combined with the liquid Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT DST) can take between 56 to 186 days. Current field studies aim at comparing this test with commercially available TB diagnosis tests, which will allow us to establish the 2G test as an effective and affordable drug resistant TB test, which will be critical in the fight against Tuberculosis worldwide.
