Скачать или смотреть HeroRAT Adriano learning to detect tuberculosis

As a research organization, APOPO is always at the forefront in developing new scent detection applications. One of our core operational activities are in the field of tuberculosis (TB) control. Tuberculosis (TB) remains the top infectious killer worldwide. APOPO works to tackle TB in 3 of the 30 High TB-burden countries – Tanzania, Mozambique and Ethiopia.

APOPO's Training and Research Center is based at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania. This is where APOPO conducts innovative research into using TB detection rats as a cost-efficient, rapid diagnostic tool. The trained African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei) are remarkable: the high speed at which they can search large numbers of samples as well as the high sensitivity of the rats, results in a very low cost of only about €1 per sample tested.

One TB detection rat can check 100 sputum samples for TB in as little as 20 minutes. This would typically take a lab technician at a partner clinic up to 4 days using conventional microscopy. It allows APOPO to recheck samples collected from partner clinics using HeroRATs, confirm the presence of TB in the rat-positives using globally endorsed confirmation methods. Confirmed results are sent back within 24-hours to the clinics who oversee patient counselling and treatment. This approach increases detection rates in partner clinics on average by 40%.