QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN) recently lauded the new guidelines in the United States that recommend screening at-risk children of all ages for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection with modern blood-based tests such as QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus). The latest guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics highlight testing for TB with modern interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs). With this development, the company aims for its market-leading QFT-Plus to be a gold standard for blood-based tuberculosis detection for patients of all ages. More on the New Guidelines The new TB screening guidelines build upon AAP's previous IGRA recommendations and now cover children of all ages, including infants and children aged two and below. The contagious bacterial infection spread primarily through coughing by patients with the active pulmonary form of the disease. As per the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) data, TB cases have been rising post-COVID-19 as public health authorities and primary care providers catch up to the "surveillance gap" caused by the pandemic. An estimated 13 million people in the United States are likely to have latent TB infections, and children are at increased risk for progression from infection to contagious active TB disease. They are also frequently exposed to settings with a higher risk for TB transmission, such as schools and childcare centers. The AAP's recommendations follow recently updated guidelines from the American College Health Association stating that IGRAs are preferred over the 120-year-old tuberculin skin test for most situations relevant to college health. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The updated childhood ...