311ISSN 1473-7159 © 2013 Expert Reviews Ltd10.1586/ERM.13.16www.expert-reviews.com Editorial

be a huge public health problem, with nearly 9 million TB cases every year [101]. Early case detection and rapid treatment remains the most important TB control strategy, and acceleration of the adop-tion of new TB diagnostic technologies is critical for ensuring early diagnosis and reduced TB transmission. After many decades of stagnation and reliance on antiquated tests, the TB diagnostics pipe-line has greatly expanded in the past few years. In the past 5 years, several new or improved technologies have been endorsed by the WHO [1]. The Xpert ® MTB/RIF technolog