A study conducted by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) and their collaborators in Colombia suggests that diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) could become more accurate and convenient through a basic saliva test.
This approach has the potential to enhance global access to TB diagnosis, particularly benefiting individuals who find it challenging to provide sputum samples, which are currently the standard for testing.
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The study evaluated whether widely available molecular tests could reliably detect TB in saliva samples.
Led by YSPH and partners at CIDEIM at Icesi University, the research team conducted the study in Cali, Colombia.
Hundreds of participants under evaluation for possible TB were enrolled to provide saliva, sputum, and oral swab samples. The goal was to compare the accuracy of these different sampling methods using standard laboratory processes.
Analysis included 190 individuals: 95 with confirmed TB and 95 without. The investigators reported that the saliva-based test showed 90.5% sensitivity and 95.8% specificity.
This means the test correctly identified TB infections in most patients while rarely generating false positives.
YSPH epidemiology (microbial diseases) associate professor Luke Davis said: “Tuberculosis testing has long relied on sputum, which can be difficult for many patients to produce. Our findings show that saliva can be a reliable and far more accessible sample for diagnosing TB.”
The study also compared oral swabs as an alternative specimen type. They detected 72% of TB cases among participants, making them less sensitive compared to saliva sampling.
Researchers noted that further studies are needed to assess saliva-based testing performance in broader populations and community settings.
They emphasise that these results mark a step toward simpler and more accessible diagnostic options for TB worldwide.
