TB samples from patients’ masks?maybepossible

NEW METHOD Once in practice, it could make collecting bacteria samples from kids easy

MUMBAI : In what could be a new method of diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) and its infectiousness, researchers at a city-based institute have found a way to isolate TB bacteria from a patient’s mask.

Researchers at the Foundation for Medical Research (FMR) have over the past year developed a method to detect TB bacteria using masks. Twenty-nine TB patients, who are receiving treatment at a hospital in Govandi, were involved in the study. “This is one of the first studies to look at bacterial RNA in the patient’s mask,” said Dr Nerges Mistry, director, FMR.

Presently, to confirm a diagnosis for TB, laboratories require patients to cough up sputum, a mucous fluid produced in the lungs. However, collecting samples of sputum from patients in the paediatric age group has been a challenge for doctors, leading to them using invasive methods such as gastric lavage.

Doctors are excited to use the new method. Dr Vikas Oswal, a Govandi-based chest physician who provided the mask samples to the FMR, said, “This means we don’t have to train the patients to produce sputum. This will be extremely beneficial for children and mentally-challenged patients.” The FMR studied masks that were worn by patients for 10 minutes after which they were asked to cough, so that the mask could capture the bacteria on the surface. These masks were