Kakinada doctor's research on low-cost HIV-TB test gains international recognition
Kakinada: Research by Kakinada-based physician Dr Yanamadala Muralikrishna demonstrating the use of the low-cost Mantoux test to assess disease severity in HIV-Tuberculosis (TB) patients has earned international recognition.
The study has been published as a full-length original research article in the August 2026 issue of the internationally reputed Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, published by Elsevier, reports UNI.
Speaking to the media, Dr Muralikrishna said the research provides scientific evidence supporting the use of the Mantoux test as a practical prognostic tool for HIV-associated tuberculosis in resource-limited settings, offering clinicians an affordable alternative to assess disease severity where sophisticated laboratory investigations are not readily available.
He said research aimed at improving patient care using locally available and affordable resources is particularly valuable for low- and middle-income countries, expressing hope that the findings would contribute to improving the management of HIV-associated tuberculosis in regions with limited access to advanced diagnostic facilities.
Dr Muralikrishna also noted that HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis continue to pose a major public health challenge in developing countries.
He pointed out that expensive prognostic investigations such as CD4 cell count and HIV viral load tests remain inaccessible to many patients in resource-constrained settings.
Even today, nearly 40 per cent of people living with HIV in several developing countries seek medical care only after developing advanced HIV disease, with a large proportion also suffering from tuberculosis, he added.
The researcher said the study included 107 HIV-TB patients and 100 tuberculosis patients without HIV, evaluating the usefulness of the Mantoux test in assessing disease severity.
Dr Muralikrishna recalled that he had initiated his research on HIV-TB during1998-99 while pursuing postgraduate studies at Sri Rangaraya Medical College.
The research paper was presented at the 13th International AIDS Conference held in Durban, South Africa, where it was selected among the top 25 abstracts from over 5,300 submissions received from across the world.
He acknowledged the guidance and support of Prof. Dr Sunnam Satya Sri of the Department of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases during the research.
Dr Jana Veerabhadra Prasad, Dr V. Prasanna Kumar Ponnamalla and Yanamadala Geetha were also present.
