Rapid, comprehensive, and affordable mycobacterial diagnosis with whole-genome sequencing: a prospective study
Louise J Pankhurst, Carlos del Ojo Elias, Antonina A Votintseva, Timothy M Walker, Kevin Cole, Jim Davies, Jilles M Fermont, Deborah M Gascoyne-Binzi, Thomas A Kohl, Clare Kong, Nadine Lemaitre, Stefan Niemann, John Paul, Thomas R Rogers, Emma Roycroft, E Grace Smith, Philip Supply, Patrick Tang, Mark H Wilcox, Sarah Wordsworth, David Wyllie, Li Xu, Derrick W Crook, for the COMPASS-TB Study Group
Slow and cumbersome laboratory diagnostics for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) risk delayed treatment and poor patient outcomes. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) could potentially provide a rapid and comprehensive diagnostic solution. In this prospective study, we compare real-time WGS with routine MTBC diagnostic workflows.