AIIMS Wants You To Know About TB's Silent Spread: Urine Biomarkers Could Enable Earlier Diagnosis

Tuberculosis

(TB) remains one of India's most persistent public health challenges. Despite significant advances in treatment and awareness, one of the biggest hurdles in controlling the disease is that many cases are diagnosed only after symptoms become obvious. Researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are now working on a promising solution that could help detect TB much earlier through something as simple as a urine sample.Also Read: Tuberculosis Outbreak at Amazon Warehouse: How the Disease Spreads and What to Know

What Causes TB?

According to experts, Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria lead to this disease, as the germs spread through the air and can infect your lungs when you breathe them in. Sometimes, they also infect other parts of your body. The most common type of TB is pulmonary tuberculosis, but the bacterium also affects other parts of your body, which can spread throughout and lead to:

• Meningitis or inflammation of the lining of your brain
• Pott’s disease, also known as spinal tuberculosis
• Addison’s disease, an adrenal gland condition
• Hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver
• Scrofula, which causes swollen lymph nodes in your neck

Signs And Symptoms Of TB

A few active symptoms of tuberculosis include:

1. Bad cough that lasts longer than two weeks
2. Chest pain
3. Coughing up blood or sputum
4. Severe fatigue and weakness
5. Loss of appetite
6. Unexpected weight loss
7. Chills and high fever
8. Night swears

While you may not have symptoms if you have inactive TB, you would have a positive TB test.

Why Early TB Detection Is So Difficult?

Traditional diagnostic methods are often effective when the disease is active and it is affecting the lungs. However, they may struggle to identify certain forms of TB, particularly in the early stages. This includes asymptomatic cases, where infected individuals show no symptoms.The challenge is greater among children, who may not produce sputum samples easily and present symptoms that are less specific than those seen in adults. As a result, many cases remain undetected until the disease progresses.

29 Protein Markers Offer New Hope

The researchers at AIIMS have been investigating a non-invasive diagnostic approach. It is completely based on urine proteomics - which is the study of proteins present in urine that can provide clues about disease activity within the body. And so, the study identified 29 protein biomarkers in urine that are associated with active tuberculosis.Also Read: Tuberculosis in 2026: Why Does It Spread So Fast; How To Stay Safe These proteins could potentially serve as indicators of infection.Because urine collection is simple, painless and does not require specialised procedures, the approach could be valuable in large-scale screening programmes and resource-limited settings. It may also prove useful for diagnosing vulnerable groups such as children and individuals who do not exhibit classic TB symptoms.Researchers believe that a urine-based diagnostic tool could work well with the existing testing methods rather than actually replace them. It can also provide doctors with another layer of evidence when evaluating suspected cases.