Xpert MTB/RIF demonstration studies in Peru (2009) © FIND
Since the endorsement of the Xpert MTB/RIF Diagnostic Test by the World Health Organization in December 2010, implementers around the globe and especially those in areas with limited resources have been trying to figure out how they can use this new tool in their settings. In an effort to address this, GHDonline.org is hosting an expert panel starting today until May 20.
Dr. Chris Gilpin, scientist at the Stop TB Department of the WHO and part of the team leading the roll-out of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay, will lead this virtual expert panel discussion. He will be joined by Dr. Daniela Cirillo from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy; by Dr. Gerrit Coetzee from the National TB Reference Laboratory of the National Health Laboratory Service in South Africa, one of the countries planning widespread roll-out of the diagnostic test; and by Dr. Eduardo Gotuzzo from the Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru who participated in the demonstration study, and Dr. Mark Perkins from FIND, the non-profit organization that co-developed the assay and led the evaluation and demonstration studies.
