“…Tests using such antigens were designed to detect immunoglobulins IgG, IgM, or IgA against these TB-specific antigens in whole blood, plasma, or serum of both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB patients (Imaz et al, 2001;Raja et al, 2002Raja et al, , 2004Ramalingam et al, 2002;Zheng et al, 1994;Patil et al, 1996). Antigens from mycobacteria other than Mtb (M. habana) were also evaluated for their ability to diagnose extra-pulmonary TB using ELISA, and these antigens were found to be effective (Chaturvedi & Gupta 2001). To date, the 38-kDa antigen is the best candidate for the ELISA technique for diagnosing TB in actively infected individuals-but it is not reliable in extra-pulmonary or TB-HIV co-infected patients (Abebe et al, 2007).…”