Patent ID: 7833699

Claim:
An in vitro method for detecting and differentiating between a mammal presenting a latent tuberculosis and a mammal presenting an active tuberculosis, or for identifying a mammal presenting a latent tuberculosis within a healthy population, said method comprising: a) obtaining a biological sample from said mammal; b) bringing PBMC or lymphocytes present in said biological sample into contact, in an independent manner, with the native form of HBHA and with ESAT-6 under conditions allowing the secretion of IFN-γ; c) measuring the HBHA-specific IFN-γ secretion and the ESAT-6-specific IFN-γ secretion; and d) calculating the ratio between the HBHA-specific IFN-γ secretion and the ESAT-6-specific IFN-γ secretion, in which said ratio obtained in a mammal presenting a latent tuberculosis is greater than the ratio obtained in a mammal presenting an active tuberculosis or obtained in a mammal not infected by M. tuberculosis .