Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Knowledge of the prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is crucial for effective tuberculosis control, but tuberculin skin test surveys have major limitations, including poor specificity because of the broad antigenic cross-reactivity of tuberculin. The M. tuberculosis RD1 genomic segment encodes proteins, such as early secretory antigenic target (ESAT)-6, that are absent from M. bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and most environmental mycobacteria. We recently identified circulating ESAT-6-specific T cells as an accurate marker of M. tuberculosis infection. Here, interferon-gamma-secreting T cells specific for peptides derived from ESAT-6 and a second RD1 gene product, CFP10, were enumerated in 100 prospectively recruited healthy adults in Bombay (Mumbai), India. Eighty percent responded to >/=1 antigen, and many donors had high frequencies of T cells that were specific for certain immunodominant peptides. In contrast, of 40 mostly BCG-vaccinated, United Kingdom-resident healthy adults, none responded to either antigen. This study suggests an 80% prevalence of latent M. tuberculosis infection in urban India.

Original publication

DOI

10.1086/318081

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Infect Dis

Publication Date

01/02/2001

Volume

183

Pages

469 - 477

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Antigens, Bacterial, Bacterial Proteins, Epitope Mapping, Female, HIV Infections, Humans, India, Interferon-gamma, Male, Middle Aged, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Prevalence, T-Lymphocytes, Tuberculosis, Urban Health