WHO and the Stop TB Partnership publish a TB near point-of-care and swab-based testing toolkit
Published on May 6, 2026.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership have published a toolkit, the NPOC/swab toolkit. The toolkit is designed to support implementation of TB near point-of-care nucleic acid amplification tests (NPOC-NAATs) for swabs of sputum and tongue swabs to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) with and without drug resistance. These tests have been recommended by WHO to expand services to basic laboratories, primary health-care facilities, and community settings. Additionally, Tongue swabs are recommended for use with both NPOC-NATs and low-complexity automated NAATs among adults and adolescents. The new toolkit offers practical resources such as a method verification protocol for near-payer testing and job aids for specimen collection and testing.
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