الفهرس 
General features and classificationOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Tuberculosis still remains a major public health problem worldwide, with an estimated 1.7 million people infected with MTB. Furthermore, the number of tuberculous patients has increased in recent years mainly in high-risk populations. The advancing age of population and a general neglect of TB control programs in many countries also contribute to the increasing incidence of TB. In addition, drug-resistant strains of MTB have emerged which further complicates TB control programs (Magdalena et a!., 1998).One of the most critical aspects of TB control is rapid identification of infectious patients, a process which for many years was based on staining s mears for a cid-and a Icohol fast b acilli a rd culturing on solid media. The results of acid-and alcohol-fast smears are available in less than 24 hours but positive results are not s pecific. 0 n the o ther h and, mycobacterial culture and identification results which provide a specifiè diagnosis are not available before 4-8 weeks. In response to the need for a more rapid and specific diagnostic test, several manufacturers have developed nucleic acid amplification tests specific for MTB complex (Bergm an (111(1 14”oods, 1998).