{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T10:54:50Z","timestamp":1789469690979,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Boditech Med Inc., Republic of Korea","award":["GR-02601"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GR-02601"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Approximately 25% of the global population is estimated to have latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), with a 5\u201310% lifetime risk of progression to active disease. Although interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) are widely used for LTBI diagnosis, their high cost and operational complexity limit large-scale implementation in resource-limited settings. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of a low-complexity, rapid, fluorescence-based point-of-care assay, ichroma IGRA-TB, for LTBI detection. A total of 300 participants enrolled at TB Screening and Treatment Centers and the Dhaka Hospital of icddr,b were categorized as healthy controls (n = 130), household contacts of TB patients (n = 70), GeneXpert MTB\/RIF Ultra-positive active TB patients (n = 80), or individuals with a previous history of TB (n = 20). ichroma IGRA-TB was compared with QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) across all groups. Overall agreement between ichroma IGRA-TB and QFT-Plus was 91.9%, with a Cohen\u2019s kappa of 0.83, indicating almost perfect concordance. Using culture as a surrogate reference standard, QFT-Plus demonstrated higher sensitivity (74.6%) than ichroma IGRA-TB (69.0%). Overall, ichroma IGRA-TB demonstrates high agreement with QFT-Plus and acceptable sensitivity, supporting its potential as a near-point-of-care tool for LTBI screening in resource-constrained settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14030603","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T11:06:52Z","timestamp":1773054412000},"page":"603","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Evaluation of a Fluorescence Immunoassay-Based IGRA for Latent Tuberculosis Diagnosis: A Simplified, Cost-Effective Alternative"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Mohammad Khaja Mafij","family":"Uddin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5636-6026","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aar Rafi","family":"Mahmud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Afsana Akter","family":"Rupa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-9479-2860","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashabul","family":"Islam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, BRAC University, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9043-2760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jahin Fairuj","family":"Oishi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jannatul","family":"Ferdous","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rumana","family":"Nasrin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2887-6250","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Syed Mohammad Mazidur","family":"Rahman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5625-3918","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Senjuti","family":"Kabir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8833-4130","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shahriar","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5121-1962","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sayera","family":"Banu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2025). 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