The Gene Xpert is a new test for tuberculosis. It can find out if a person is infected with TB, and also if the TB bacterium of the person has resistance to one of the common TB drugs, rifampicin. Contrary to the tests that exist at the moment, it works on a molecular level to identify •mycobacterium tuberculosis•. This means that it does not use microscopy but a kind of chemical test to look for the TB bacterium. The GeneXpert is a small machine, about the size of a microwave oven, that can fit easily on a small table. It has been developed in the United States by a company called Cepheid and an organisation called the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), supported by the American National Institutes of Health. The test is also called the Xpert MTB/RIF (for mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin). You need to give a small sample of sputum in a tube for this test.