Mycobacterial AFB Detection And Drug Resistance - 1st Line - Hains

Specific strains of bacteria can lead to the occurrence of fatal diseases. The acid-fast bacilli (AFB) is one such type that causes conditions like tuberculosis (TB). This type of mycobacterial infection can affect your lungs, brain, kidneys, and spine.

Such a disease can spread from one person to another. However, the transmission of TB depends on its type. Based on the infection, you might have latent or active TB. The symptoms and transmission of infection happen only in the cases involving active TB. The AFB test can be help detect the type of mycobacterial infection and play a key role in determining the course of treatment.

Your doctor can suggest an AFB testing if you notice common symptoms of TB or other nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections.  Occurence of the following signs and symptoms may necessitate undergoing AFB test procedure:

• Chronic cough
• Chills
• Fever
• Weight loss
• Weakness
• Chest pain
• Loss of appetite
• Inexplicable weight loss
• Night sweats

After proper diagnosis, your doctor will require accurate reports that infer the presence of acid-fast bacilli bacteria.  There are two types of AFB testing procedures:

• AFB Culture
• AFB Smear

The AFB Culture test provides a more accurate diagnosis of mycobacterial infection. However, this type of AFB testing requires more time as the sputum samples are placed in a controlled lab environment.

The AFB smear test involves medical observation under a microscope. In this evaluation, you can expect a quicker analysis of the possibility of an active infection. A positive AFB test generally implies the existence of an infection.If your results lie in the AFB test normal range, there is no infection in the system.

You must provide a blood or sputum sample for the AFB test procedure. The test can also help determine the effectiveness of ongoing tuberculosis treatment. Certain risk factors can make you more susceptible to mycobacterial infection, such as:

• If you suffer from diseases like HIV that weaken the immune system
• If there was a recent close contact with a person suffering from TB or NTM
• If you reside at a location that is highly prone to tuberculosis infections

At Apollo 24|7, you can receive the Mycobacterial AFB Detection and Drug Resistance- 1st Line – Hains test package. The health provider can also suggest a susceptibility test for providing insights on the most effective treatment.