Original data of tuberculosis patients

Introduction:The development of accurate and reliable diagnostic tools for tuberculosis remains a global health challenge. However, currently antibody-based assays lack sufficient sensitivity (30-40%). This study aimed to construct a novel multi-epitope fusion protein and evaluate its efficacy for serological diagnosis and clinical severity assessment.Methods:The diagnostic antigen was designed based on 11 B-cell epitopes derived from six highly expressed <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> proteins. Serum samples from patients and healthy controls were analyzed by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. The diagnostic efficacy was assessed and correlations between antibody levels and clinical severity were evaluated. A SHapley Additive explanation model was employed to interpret influencing factors.