Kakinada Doctor’s Low-Cost HIV-TB Test Research receives International recognition
Kakinada, July 26 (TNT): A research study by Kakinada-based physician Dr Yanamadala Muralikrishna on the use of the low-cost Mantoux test to assess disease severity in HIV-Tuberculosis (TB) patients has received international recognition with its publication in the August 2026 issue of the Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, published by Elsevier.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Dr Muralikrishna said the study provides scientific evidence supporting the Mantoux test as an affordable prognostic tool for HIV-associated tuberculosis in resource-limited settings, where advanced laboratory investigations are often unavailable.
He said the findings could help clinicians assess disease severity using locally available and inexpensive resources, thereby improving the management of HIV-TB patients in low- and middle-income countries.
Observing that HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis continue to pose a major public health challenge in developing nations, Dr Muralikrishna said costly investigations such as CD4 cell count and HIV viral load tests remain beyond the reach of many patients.
Nearly 40 per cent of people living with HIV in several developing countries continue to present at hospitals with advanced stages of the disease, many of them also suffering from tuberculosis, he added.
The study was conducted on 107 HIV-TB patients and 100 tuberculosis patients without HIV to evaluate the usefulness of the Mantoux test in assessing disease severity.
Dr Muralikrishna said the research was originally undertaken during 1998-99 while he was pursuing his postgraduate studies at Sri Rangaraya Medical College.
The preliminary findings were presented at the 13th International AIDS Conference held in Durban, South Africa, where the paper was selected among the top 25 abstracts from over 5,300 submissions received worldwide.
He acknowledged the guidance of Prof. Dr Sunnam Satya Sri of the Department of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases during the study.
Dr Jana Veerabhadra Prasad, Dr V. Prasanna Kumar Ponnamalla and Yanamadala Geetha were present at the press conference.
TNT TMR
