A method of diagnosing or monitoring Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection, which method comprises detecting the presence of the polypeptide (MAP P900) encoded by the positive strand of IS900, or a fragment thereof, in a sample from a subject, wherein MAP P900, or a fragment thereof, is detected using an antibody, or an antigen-binding fragment thereof, that binds to MAP P900.

The present invention relates to a method for the in vitro detection of a latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in a subject, wherein said method comprises determining at least one nucleotide sequence and/or at least one polypeptide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in a blood cell population of said subject, and wherein the presence of said at least one nucleotide sequence and/or said at least one polypeptide is indicative for said latent tuberculosis infection. In particular, the blood cell population is enriched for hematopoietic stem cells. The invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition for use in the treatment of the LTBI in the subject, wherein it is determined if the nucleotide sequence and/or the polypeptide of Mtb is/are present in the blood cell population. Further, the invention relates to kits for carrying out the methods of the invention. The invention also relates to the use of the kits.

The present invention relates to a method of simultaneously diagnosing active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) using one or more biomarkers selected from a white blood cell count, a hemoglobin concentration, a neutrophil count, a lymphocyte count, a monocyte count, a procalcitonin concentration, a C-reactive protein concentration, an α1-acid glycoprotein concentration and an erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or a combination thereof. The present invention may provide a diagnostic method for simultaneously differentiating active tuberculosis and LTBI without a separate additional test on a patient diagnosed as positive by a conventional tuberculosis infection assay such as a tuberculin skin test (TST) or an interferon-γ release assay (IGRA).

The present invention relates to compositions and fusion proteins containing at least two Mycobacterium sr) antigens, and polynucleotides encoding such compositions and fusion proteins, The invention also relates to methods for their use in the treatment, prevention and/or diagnosis of tuberculosis infections.

An apparatus for easily and conveniently diagnosing tuberculosis including a blood collecting device is provided. The blood collecting device comprises a support part including a first surface, a second surface formed opposite to the first surface, and a communication hole through which a solution is movable. The communication hole is formed between the first surface and the second surface. A blood collecting tip is attached to the first surface and has a capillary tube connected to the communication hole. According to the present disclosure, a small amount of peripheral blood is collected using a capillary phenomenon and the collected whole blood is used as it is without separating a blood corpuscle therefrom by centrifugation and the like to diagnose tuberculosis.

The disclosure concerns a method of obtaining information about the disease status of an individual by processing input data using a trained machine learning algorithm model to generate an output representing the information. The disclosure also concerns a related computer program, data processing apparatus, and system, as well as a method for training a machine learning algorithm model to generate information about the disease status of an individual. The information may, for example, relate to the presence, absence or type of M. tuberculosis complex infection in the individual.

A method of determining whether an individual is infected with a mycobacterial disease, the method comprising: (a) providing a system which comprises an antigen; (b) contacting the system with a sample obtained from the individual; and (c) detecting the presence or absence of binding of a biomarker in the sample with the antigen; wherein the antigen is an arabinose ester of a mycolic acid or an analogue thereof.

Described herein is a mycobacterium mutant, comprising at least one mutation in at least one gene sequence encoding global gene regulators (GGRs) selected from the group consisting of sigH, sigL, sigE, ECF-1, and mixtures thereof, wherein the GGR gene is at least partially inactivated. Described herein also is a vaccine based on the mutant and a method of differentiating between subjects that have been infected with mycobacterium and subjects that have not been infected with mycobacterium or have been vaccinated with a mycobacterium vaccine.

Compositions and methods for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection in a patient suspected of being infected with MTB and for distinguishing active tuberculosis (ATB), incipient tuberculosis (ITB) or subclinical tuberculosis (STB) from latent tuberculosis and other pulmonary and infectious diseases are provided. The methods may also be used to monitor treatment responses of MTB infected patients. Changes in the expression level of genes are used to aid in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of tuberculosis.

Provided are high affinity Mycobacterium tuberculosis capsule-specific antibodies and fragments thereof, as well as methods of use and devices employing such antibodies and/or fragments.