Germany-headquartered firm Qiagen has announced the launch of the QIAseq xHYB Mycobacterium tuberculosis Panel for research use, a new tool in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), the world’s leading infectious disease killer.

Building on Qiagen’s ongoing efforts to support global TB management and control, which include the leading diagnostics test QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus, the new panel enables culture-free whole genome sequencing (WGS) directly from samples such as sputum or cerebrospinal fluid. This innovation significantly reduces the time to result and enables real-time epidemiology of TB outbreaks, addressing a critical need in the field of TB surveillance and control.

The QIAseq xHYB Mycobacterium tuberculosis Panel represents a major advancement in solving the problem of bacterial WGS from complex host samples, using next-generation sequencing (NGS). It is designed against the seven major lineages of TB, covering the full breadth of diversity. By eliminating the need for a 4-to-6-week bacterial culture, the panel significantly accelerates the process of obtaining results.

The QIAseq xHYB Mycobacterium tuberculosis Panel also plays a vital role in the detection and management of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing concern in TB treatment. The panel covers all AMR-related genes, allowing for the identification of resistant TB strains, including multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), which is caused by bacteria that do not respond to the most effective first-line TB drugs.