HILDEN, Germany & GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today marked World TB Day by announcing its QuantiFERON blood test has been used to screen patients for tuberculosis (TB) infection more than 100 million times since its launch – an achievement that cements its status as the gold standard in the fight against this contagious and often deadly disease.
Used to test patients in over 130 countries, the fourth generation QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus assay identifies interferon-gamma released by T-cells following recognition of TB specific antigens as a marker of TB infection. Interferon gamma release assays (IGRA) require only one patient visit to a healthcare provider and are more accurate than the traditional two-visit skin test that has been used for over a century to detect the latent form of the infection.