Yale School of Public Health: Saliva Test Shows High Accuracy for Detecting TB

17 March 2026

Yale School of Public Health news story

A simple saliva sample may offer a highly accurate and easier way to diagnose TB, according to a new study led by researchers from the Yale School of Public Health and collaborators in Colombia. The findings suggest that saliva-based testing could expand access to TB diagnosis worldwide, especially for people who cannot easily produce sputum samples, the current testing standard.

The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, evaluated whether saliva could be used to detect TB using a widely available molecular laboratory test. Researchers found that the saliva test correctly identified more than 90% of patients with confirmed TB, while also showing high specificity — meaning it rarely produced false positives.

Read the full news story here.

Source: Yale School of Public Health