Cameroon Real-World Evidence: MiniDock Enables Practical Near-POC TB Testing

A new medRxiv preprint from the RAPID TB Consortium evaluated Pluslife MiniDock MTB using sputum and tongue swab samples among outpatients and during active case finding (ACF) in Cameroon. Results point to a field-ready non-sputum option for real-world programs.

• Outpatients (culture reference):

• MiniDock (sputum): Sens 86% (114/132; 95% CI 79–91) • Spec 98% (844/864; 96–99)
• MiniDock (tongue swab): Sens 76% (100/132; 68–82) • Spec 99% (856/865; 98–99)

Takeaway: Meets WHO near-POC TPP thresholds; provides a practical non-sputum option.

• ACF, smear-negative (programmatically important):

• MiniDock (sputum): Sens 67% (26/39; 51–79) • Spec 98% (844/864; 96–99)
• MiniDock (tongue swab): Sens 44% (17/39; 29–59) • Spec 99% (856/865; 98–99)

Takeaway: In smear-negative TB, sputum detects more; tongue swab maintains ~99% specificity and broadens access.

• Field usability: Built for roll-out

• Invalid after one repeat 0.18% (2/1,096) sputum; 0.09% (1/1,096) tongue swab
• Time to result: negatives≈25 min; positives mean≈13–14 min
• Self-collection performs well: 75% (supervised self-collection) vs 80% (HCW-collected) sensitivity for tongue swabs

Takeaway: Tongue swab delivers quick results with few invalids and easy self-collection—an accessible complement to Ultra sputum.

“In this population, MiniDock MTB met WHO TPP thresholds for both sputum and non-sputum near-POC testing.”

Reference: 

RAPID TB Consortium (Cameroon). Diagnostic performance of the Pluslife MiniDock MTB and Molbio MTB Ultima assays to detect tuberculosis from tongue and sputum swabs among outpatients and in active case finding in Cameroon. medRxiv. Preprint. 11 Sep 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.11.25335435