To support WHO member countries in their efforts to implement new policy recommendations for TB diagnostic testing, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership have published today the TB near point-of-care and swab-based testing toolkit (NPOC/swab toolkit). This comprehensive set of tools is designed to support implementation of TB near point-of-care nucleic acid amplification tests (NPOC-NAATs) for swabs of sputum and tongue swabs to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) with and without drug resistance.

NPOC-NAATs, a new class of diagnostics recently recommended by WHO, complement other molecular tests recommended for the diagnosis of TB by enabling testing programmes to expand services down to basic laboratories, primary health-care facilities and community settings – bringing testing closer to where people seek care. Tongue swabs are also newly recommended for use with both NPOC-NAAT and low-complexity automated NAATs among adults and adolescents who cannot produce sputum – allowing these individuals who are often at increased risk of TB morbidity and mortality to be tested for disease with accurate molecular assays.