الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
This study aimed to compare and analyze the results of
microbiological and immunological laboratory investigations of pulmonary tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis patients from Chest Hospital Damietta, Egypt, and also to evaluate the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis promptly using immunological assays in comparison with the traditional Ziehl Neelsen microbiological technique. This is to develop reliable effective assays , shorter duration and more specific assays for diagnosis of active tuberculosis. In this study The sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of Ziehl-Neelsen stain were 48 %, 100 % and 64 %, respectively. An identified antigen in serum samples of infected persons with pulmonary tuberculosis was detected using TB-Spot ELISA technique. The sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of TB-Spot ELISA for the detection of antigen were 97 %, 95 % and 98 %, respectively. The serum levels of TNF-α reach statistical difference (P< 0.0001) in sera of patients who were positive for sera of TB antigen when compared with the levels in sera of TB negative individuals.