Laboratory methods for diagnosis of tuberculosis - the approach and challenges.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem, particularly in many of the developing countries including India. Some of the factors that have substantially contributed to the number of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDRTB) cases both in general and among HIV infected persons arethe delay in the diagnosis as well as delayed determination in the drug susceptibility of the isolated organism. In the present article, an attempt has been made to review various techniques/methods available for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and their applications along with the advantages and disadvantages/ limitations.