Mame Diarra Bousso Ndiaye presenting her publication at the 6th postgraduates’ day – Credits: Pasteur Institute of Madagascar
The publication entitled “Plasma host protein signatures correlating with Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity prior to and during antituberculosis treatment” highlights the analytical performance of a signature of 4 plasma markers as a diagnostic tool for tuberculosis, and for monitoring the effectiveness of antituberculosis treatment. Her research work is part of the multicentric evaluation of blood tests for the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (HINTT, 2017-2022); a study led by the Mérieux Foundation and carried out in partnership with 5 members of the GABRIEL network: Madagascar (IPM), Bangladesh (Icddr,B), Lebanon (LMSE), Paraguay (IICS – UNA), and Georgia (NCTLD).
The use of this signature would allow improvements in both the testing and treatment of patients with tuberculosis, in countries with limited resources or high numbers of TB cases. The test is carried out on a drop of blood and would also overcome the current limitations of diagnostic tests for TB based on analyzing sputum.
Previously presented at the 53rd Union World Conference on Lung Health in November 2022, and on November 4 at the 6th postgraduates’ day at the Institut Pasteur in Madagascar (IPM), this publication led to the postgraduate student being awarded the prize for best scientific poster from the IPM.
The subject of the study led by Mame Diarra Bousso Ndiaye, who was awarded a research grant by the international research network GABRIEL, covers more broadly the development, assessment, and coordination of the introduction of innovative diagnostic tests allowing improvements in the testing and treatment of TB in the most fragile patients, and helping to reinforce research capacities in Madagascar. She is being supervised jointly by Dr. Jonathan Hoffmann, Head of the Mérieux Foundation’s TB program and Dr. Voahangy Rasolofo, Scientific Director at the Institut Pasteur in Madagascar.
Mame Diarra Bousso Ndiaye has also developed a serological diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2, which allows the epidemiology of the virus to be described, within the cohorts of the APRECIT project on tuberculosis.
About HINTT
Launched in 2017, the HINTT project (which stands for HBHA-IGRA New Tool for Tuberculosis) is a multi-centre clinical evaluation of the immunodiagnosis test for tuberculosis organised within the GABRIEL network, in partnership with research teams based in Lebanon, Madagascar, Paraguay, Georgia, and Bangladesh. The project came about as the result of observations of the high treatment failure rate for patients infected with what are known as multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, partly linked to the adverse side effects and the length of treatment. The tendency to renounce and discontinue treatment negates all efforts to halt the spread of the epidemic.
HINTT was set up to identify and assess immunology tools developed to screen for tuberculosis and to monitor the effectiveness of tuberculosis treatment with a view to helping clinical practitioners provide adequate treatment for the people most at-risk, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant forms of tuberculosis.
About APRECIT
The APRECIT project (2020-2023) for improving the treatment of TB infection is being led by the Mérieux Foundation and developed in partnership with the Institut Pasteur in Madagascar and the Centre Pasteur in Cameroon, with financial support from the Expertise France Initiative. Its objective is to support national programs for dealing with TB in both countries as they define a cost-efficient strategy for testing and treating latent tuberculosis infection. The project covers:
- Evaluating a community intervention model for testing and treating latent TB infection;
- Assessing the prognostic and diagnostic value of 2 IGRA tests in testing for LTBI compared with the Intradermal reaction to tuberculin (IDR) test;
- Setting up a biobank of biological samples that can be used in research and in the development of new approaches to diagnosing TB, and in the reinforcement of local research capacities.