Recombinant gamma interferon stimulates signal transduction and gene expression in alveolar macrophages in vitro and in tuberculosis patients.

Tuberculosis is the seventh leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world, with eight million cases per year. Animal and human studies demonstrate an enrichment of CD4 cells at sites of disease, with a more favorable clinical course when there is a Th1 response with the presence of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). We previously treated patients who had multidrug-resistant tuberculosis with recombinant IFN-gamma (rIFN-gamma) in aerosol form and were able to convert smear-positive cases to smear negative with 12 treatments over 1 month.

Sputum induction problems identified through genetic fingerprinting.

Objective: To identify the contamination source of a cluster of eight positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from one laboratory session.

Methods: Spoligotyping was performed on M. tuberculosis isolates processed during one laboratory session.