Stool4TB Highlights Breakthrough at The Union Conference 2024

Stool4TB PhD Researcher George William Kasule presented his work at The Union World Conference on Lung Health 2024 to a wide audience of researchers and scientists across TB and pulmonary health.

He shared the groundbreaking findings from Stool4TB’s multicenter study conducted in Eswatini, Mozambique, and Uganda—three countries grappling with high burdens of TB and HIV.

Our research demonstrates that the stool-based Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra test is a promising alternative to traditional sputum-based methods for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in adults living with HIV. The stool Ultra test not only showed moderate to high accuracy compared to sputum tests but also identified 10–36% more TB cases than urine or sputum-based methods. Importantly, its performance was significantly better in individuals with advanced HIV (CD4 counts below 200 cells/µl), a group often hardest to diagnose.

These findings are a major step forward in addressing the TB diagnostic gap for people living with HIV, particularly those unable to provide sputum samples. We believe the stool Ultra test has the potential to transform TB diagnosis, serving as an accessible, non-invasive, and effective initial diagnostic tool for this vulnerable population.

PhD Researcher George William Kasule presenting his work on The Union’s podium.

This is an exciting milestone in our mission to improve TB outcomes, and we look forward to seeing the impact this innovation could have in real-world clinical settings.