UK researchers identify new TB markers

Researchers have found a new way to screen people for tuberculosis by identifying proteins released as diseased lungs break down. TB bacteria typically attack the lungs, and the damage they do causes transmission of the disease to others and can lead to the death of the patient. About one and a half million people die of tuberculosis each year. Researchers from Britain’s University of Southampton, led by Paul Elkington, found increased amounts of collagen and elastin €” key proteins in the lungs €” in TB patients’ sputum and blood. Elkington says these markers of the disease may help in the