Comparative evaluation of nested PCR and conventional smear methods for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum samples.

Background: With 1.8 million new cases each year, India carries 20% of the global burden of tuberculosis, a situation that is now further exacerbated with the emergence of drug resistance. The current diagnostic technique suggested by the Government of India's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme is Ziehl-Neelsen staining of a sputum smear.