WHO recommends near point-of-care tests, tongue swabs, and sputum pooling for TB diagnosis

Summary: The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced new rules to make testing for tuberculosis (TB) faster and easier. Before, people had to cough up deep chest mucus (called sputum) for a test, which is hard for many people to do. Because of this, millions of people find out they have TB too late. Now, doctors can use a simple tongue swab to test for the disease.

The WHO is also recommending new tests that can be done right at the local clinic instead of sending samples far away to big labs. To save money and time, clinics can even mix several sputum samples together to test them all at once. These updates will help people find out if they have TB sooner so they can start life-saving medicine right away.

For more details, see rssapp-who-int-news at who.int/news/item/09-03-2026-who-recommends-near-point-of-care-tests--tongue-swabs--and-sputum-pooling-for-tb-diagnosis (opens in new tab)