The World Health Organization has warned the developing countries to stop the commercial blood tests to detect active tuberculosis as two of the study’s results have notified that the commonly used test for TB were defective, misleading and could result in TB transmission.

TB claims the life of around 1.7 million people every year worldwide.

In India, the government has notified that nearly two million people get infected ever year even after the introduction of the blood tests. The studies were conducted in India where the researchers have claimed that the blood tests were contributing in the increasing number of TB infections.

Dr. David Dowdy from Public Health Johns Hopkins School, the lead researcher of one of the studies stated, “These tests are actively doing people harm by causing them either to take medicines that they don’t need or delaying the diagnosis that they actually do need to get better”.

Dowdy added that the old sputum smear microscopy test was still reliable, cheap and effective for the TB diagnosis but was considered as time consuming so blood tests were being preferred.

After the warning issued by WHO, the Indian government has made an announcement asking doctors not to go for imprecise diagnostic tests.