Singapore: In a critical study done by researchers of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, it was found that the 100-year-old tuberculin skin test has vastly increased the number of cases of latent TB while in the same population using QuantiFERON-TB Gold from Qiagen, a global player in the field of scientific technologies, showed a far lesser prevalance rate for the disease. 

China has the second largest incidence of TB cases, India being the top country.

In what is being considered one of the largest prospective multi-center study ever conducted in China, took a look at the diagnostics being used for latent tuberculosis diagnosis. The researchers screened 21,000 people. The aim was to identify at risk populations. 

The study results were published in the medical journal Lancet.