Developments in immunological technologies leading to improvements in point-of-care diagnostic testing.

Rapid and accurate point of care testing is of great concern, especially in terms of detecting infectious disease outbreaks in developing countries having high population burdens. While numerous detection systems are currently available, care must be taken in choosing those that are reliable and have proven acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity, based on adequate laboratory and pre-clinical trial testing. Two papers in the current issue show significant advances in technology that could bring Point-of-Care Diagnostic Testing closer to reality for cholera and environmental mycobacteria.