National Nuclear Agency with IAEA develops new radiopharmaceutical to detect TB

While several radiopharmaceuticals are able to detect TB, they are not specific enough to the disease and hence cannot be used for clinical diagnosis.

Brought under control in much of the developed world, tuberculosis, or TB, remains one of the leading causes of death in many developing countries. In Indonesia, where over 360,000 cases are discovered each year, and another 600,000 cases are estimated as unreported, detection of a form of tuberculosis that affects organs other than the lung will soon become easier – thanks to a new radiopharmaceutical developed by the country’s National Nuclear Agency (BATAN), with support from the IAEA. Read more.