27 Mar 2026 • Timed to World TB Day 2026, the WHO released new diagnostic guidance that could meaningfully shift how tuberculosis is detected in the settings where the disease hits hardest.

The new guidelines on TB diagnosis recommend:

• A new class of near-point-of-care nucleic acid amplification tests (NPOC-NAATs) for the initial detection of TB without rifampicin resistance at peripheral levels of the health system (i.e., peripheral laboratories, primary healthcare centers and communities) and at lower unit costs than other molecular test and instrument types;
• Tongue swabs as new, readily available and easy-to-collect specimens for use with NPOC-NAATs and low-complexity automated NAATs (LC-aNAATs) for the initial detection of TB with and without rifampicin resistance among adults and adolescents that are unable to produce sputum; and
• Pooling of sputa as a diagnostic strategy for the initial detection of TB and rifampicin resistance using LC-aNAATs with the potential to improve turnaround times and costs when resources are constrained.

The cumulative intent is clear: compress the gap between symptom onset and confirmed diagnosis by decentralising where testing happens, not just improving what tests exist.

Source: WHO | Read full story