Progress in research of diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection

latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) refers to the infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis without clinical symptom, chest X-ray imagine change and bacteriological evidence. Active pulmonary tuberculosis will develop in 5%-10% of people with LTBI if no effective treatments are given. The early detection and treatment of people with LTBI is one of key strategies for tuberculosis prevention and control. This paper summaries the characteristics of 2 widely used LTBI diagnostic tests, i.e. tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon gammarelease assay (IGRA), for the rational choosing of 2 tests and the reference in the field survey and related research.