Linking the urinary metabolome to detect active tuberculosis infections and disease progression

Although TB detection has been improved, current diagnostic strategies are still limited, with regard to sensitivity and specificity, as well as their ability to detect multidrug resistance associated with disease recurrence and patient death. Better diagnostic potential could be achieved by considering multiple factors linked to TB disease development. Our goal is to determine how the metabolome of liquid biopsies (urines and bloods) associated with TB disease could help in the rapid diagnosis of TB and understand the development of the disease. Working with Stellenbosch University (South African) and São Paulo State University (UNESP) we will obtain liquid biopsies from 400 individuals with suspected TB.