Abstract:

Pathogenic microorganism resources are crucial for infectious diseases diagnosis, treatment formulation, vaccines development, transmission characteristics research, drug resistance surveillance, evolutionary study, and pathogen-host interactions investigation. Tuberculosis remains the foremost cause of death by an infectious disease globally and represents one of the major communicable diseases in China, which has persistently posed a serious threat to the health of the Chinese population. The process of tuberculosis prevention and control generates a substantial volume of biological sample resources, including microbial strains, however, previous efforts in the management and utilization of tuberculosis-related biological samples have been plagued by issues such as disorganization, fragmentation, isolation, lack of standardized protocols, absence of quality control systems and information management frameworks, as well as incomplete clinical data, these inadequacies have resulted in significant losses of valuable Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains and associated biological samples, and also posing potential biosafety risks. Based on the current situations and demands of Chinese tuberculosis prevention and control, we discussed the necessity of establishing tuberculosis resource bank, the construction principles and classification, as well as the utilization of the mycobacterium sample bank. We hope to advance the standardized development and scientific application of tuberculosis biological sample banks in China, thereby continuously enhancing national research capabilities and service levels related to tuberculosis, and ultimately, contribute for the high-quality development of disease prevention and control initiatives.

Key words: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Biological specimen banks, Communicable disease control