TB Breath Test? I Smell a Rat

Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide disease spread from person to person through the air, affecting the lungs and sometimes other body parts. It is especially dangerous to anyone with immune disorders and people of developing countries. The Advocacy to Control Tuberculosis Internationally Newsroom (ACTION) says TB kills someone every 20 seconds.

Because TB death statistics and testing accuracy improvement is in dire need, several different TB studies are underway in the world medical community. One study started in Tanzania, Africa during 2004. It is led by Bart Weetjens, and getting lots of positive attention for its life-saving potential.

Rodent Power

Bart saw dogs training as landmine detectors in Tanzania, Africa. He remembered how easy it was for him to train rodents in various ways back when he was a child, and set-out to use the giant Gambian (African) pouched rat to sniff-out landmines. Like dogs, rats have a keen sense of smell and will work for food. The click-and-reward training method works well for both animals. Unlike dogs, rats do not need behavior training, so they are easier and quicker to train. Landmine detection rats are a great success. The giant pouched rats are already considered heroes for saving lives in Africa. They are so light on their feet that they do not trigger landmine explosions, making it less likely for the rats or their human companions to be harmed.

Training the rats to detect TB was Bart and his team's next life-saving challenge. The rats began sniffing human sputum, or saliva, in 2004 for this project. These tests proved very accurate in detecting TB.

In fact, the human saliva-breath smelling rats found TB more often than the microscopic saliva test currently used in African countries, such as Tanzania where the study began. The microscopic tests use samples of saliva on microscope slides and medical technologists must examine each slide individually. This microscopic process can take up to a week for results. The rat sniffed saliva is diagnosed within seconds. The trained rats even found TB infection that the microscopic tests had missed. The study was released by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in the 2010 December issue of American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

The Bottom Line

The TB rat sniffing saliva method is still in development, but is showing great promise as a better detection method than the saliva microscopic test currently used in African countries. The potential for lives saved by its higher accuracy rate and quicker test results is tremendous. The rat sniffing test may make people want to line-up for a good rat smelling. Would you open mouth nice-and-wide to let a fourteen pound rat smell your saliva for a TB test?

Sources

Bart Weejens, Social Edge Interview, 2009 YouTube video
Detection Rat Technology, APOPO
Giant African Rats Successfully..., NewsWise
Advdocacy to Control Tuberculosis Internationally Newsroom (ACTION)
Giant African Gambian Pouch Rats - Bane or Boone? , Florida Treasures
Tuberculocis, World Health Sciences
Africa: Global Fund Impressed ....
Interview with Bart Weetjens, PBS Frontline