Aerobiology, Immunology, and Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Transmission

We submit data from the TB Aerobiology, Immunology and Transmission (TBAIT) study examining clinical and transcriptomic characteristics associated with Tuberculosis cough aerosolization. From a prospective longitudinal cohort of 142 participants with previously untreated pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, we assessed presence of culturable Mtb aerosols using a cough aerosol sampling system (CASS), as well as other clinical, microbiologic, and immunologic characteristics. We performed whole blood transcriptional profiling (submitted here) on a convenience subset of 29 cough aerosol culture (CAC) positive participants and 29 CAC negative participants, using Illumina NextSeq RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq). ]]>
Inclusion Criteria:Study participants (adults 18 years of age and older) with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis who had not initiated anti-tuberculosis treatment were enrolled in Nairobi, Kenya between 2021-03-01 and 2023-03-30. Diagnosis was based on a positive result with either GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert MTB/RIF) or GeneXpert Ultra (Xpert Ultra) and confirmed with sputum AFB-culture. Exclusion Criteria:Persons who were Xpert Ultra trace positive and culture-negative, and individuals who declined enrollment. ]]>