New Xpert MTB/XDR: added value and future in the field
Arnold Bainomugisa, Christopher Gilpin, Christopher Coulter, Ben J. Marais
Abstract
The recent launch of the new Xpert MTB/XDR assay (Cepheid Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA) by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics [1] was widely welcomed by the tuberculosis (TB) community, given the critical need for new and better diagnostics to guide the treatment of drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Xpert MTB/XDR detects resistance to isoniazid (target genes: inhA promoter, katG , fabG1 , oxyR-aphC intergenic region), ethionamide ( inhA promoter), fluoroquinolones ( gyrA and gyrB ), and second-line injectables ( rrs and eis promoter) and is positioned as an add-on or “reflex test” in patients with rifampicin resistance detected by Xpert MTB/RIF or Ultra [2, 3]. Xpert MTB/XDR is a new rapid molecular test for drug resistant tuberculosis <https://bit.ly/3l2t4op>