Giant african pouched rats as detectors of tuberculosis in human sputum: Comparison of two techniques for sputum presentation

Previous studies have shown that pouched ratscan detect the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis, in human sputumsamples obtained from clinical facilities. Although pouched ratsevaluate sputumsamples quickly, preparing the samples is relatively slow. The present study evaluated whether the rats can detect tuberculosis in microscope slides, which are routinely prepared at these facilities. Results indicate that they can do so, but their accuracy is considerably lower than that of rats exposed to pots containing sputum, as in prior studies.