Researching lung damage, immunology, and treatment needs as sub-studies in the household cohort study ERASE-TB
With ten million cases and 1.4 million deaths in 2021 alone, Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains one of the world's most dangerous pathogens. Early diagnosis of the disease and tracking of people at increased risk of developing TB are critical to minimising infection and containing TB. The ongoing ERASE-TB study will follow 2,100 household contacts of highly infectious TB index cases across three African sites over 24 months. Funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), the study aims to evaluate several novel diagnostic test candidates and to develop testing algorithms for use in individuals at high risk of developing TB. Frequent TB screening of household contacts will allow early diagnosis of TB in these individuals. This trial, thereby, offers a unique platform for additional research.
ERASE-TB is a study that seeks to evaluate new diagnostic tests for detecting tuberculosis (TB) in its early stages. Click on the arrow to start the video and find out more about ERASE-TB (active content from YouTube is only loaded and personal data is only transferred to YouTube when this video is called up; more information in our privacy policy).
This DZIF project will address the following research questions within the ERASE-TB study:
- The importance of diabetes and chronic lung damage as risk factors for TB progression will be assessed through spirometry and diabetes testing.
- A sub-study will complement the ERASE-TB study by further monitoring household contacts with TB to evaluate the need for treatment of minimal/initial TB and to characterise the potential reduction in post-TB lung damage through early diagnosis.
- Household contacts with consistently negative interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) will be assessed for their immunological exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Overview of the study
The aim of this ERASE-TB substudy is to develop a more accurate prediction of a person’s risk for progression to TB and to develop tests and recommendations to steer preventive treatment. The illustration summarises the different work packages and the planned measurement points for the study (WP = Work package; M = Month since study start; BL = Baseline; W = Week since study start; OTS = On-Treatment Sub-study).
