Scientists in East Africa are planning to exploit trained rats’ highly developed sense of smell to carry out mass screening for tuberculosis among inmates of crowded prisons in Tanzania and Mozambique.

Health officials noted on Friday in Dar Es Salaam that this has became imperative because in Tanzania, people in communities where tuberculosis is most common, including prisons, often fail to show up for screening due to paucity of funds or awareness.

“Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death, after HIV, from an infectious disease around the world.

“The WHO data shows that there are about 9 million new cases a year and around 2 million deaths,” they said.

They said this is creating a huge burden for health authorities trying to tackle the disease.

The health official said because existing systems lack the accuracy, speed and cost-efficiency required scaling up screening of the highly contagious disease, many TB cases go undiagnosed.

They disclosed that to achieve this, African Giant Pouched Rats trained by the Belgian non-governmental organisation “APOPO”, widely known for their work sniffing out landmines, are now developing a reputation in East Africa for their skill and speed at detecting TB too.

Charlie Richter, APOPO’s U.S. Director, said with funding from the United States Agency for International Development, plans were underway to recruit and train more rats to carry out prison screening.

He said the system is faster and more reliable than existing methods.

“We believe our unique TB Detection Rat technology will prove itself as an effective mass-screening tool.

“We then aim to expand the programme to all prisons, shantytowns, factories and other settings in Tanzania, Mozambique and other high TB-burden countries, as well as in high-risk groups such as those individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

“This will improve and save lives all over the globe at a low cost,” he said.

Credit: Punch