The Global Fund partnership is deploying cutting-edge technology to find missing TB patients. In India, home to the largest TB epidemic in the world, a fleet of specially equipped vans is bringing molecular-based diagnostic tools to rural areas and hard-to-reach communities to improve case-finding and access to health services.

Inside the vehicle sat a GeneXpert machine, a sophisticated molecular technology that is more accurate and yields much faster results than traditional TB diagnosis methods, like smear microscopy. Using sputum samples, the machine can detect the DNA of tuberculosis bacteria, which allows patients to be put on treatment earlier and reduces the risk of transmission. In Rajgurunagar, it used to take eight days before the patient would get the results, but the van has cut the waiting period to a matter of hours.

“Technology is very important to fight TB,” said Doctor Geeta Kulkarni, medical superintendent at the Rajgurunagar hospital. She said TB case notification in her district has increased by 30 percent in the last year thanks to the use of GeneXpert machines and other tools to improve searching for, diagnosing and treating all forms of TB.

“Drug-resistant TB is a big problem in India, so to tackle the disease we need to find patients as early as possible. This is where the van comes in,” Kulkarni said, adding that of 40 diagnosed cases of TB in the area every month, two to three were multidrug-resistant cases.