Apopo Simple Donation
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TB should not stand between a child and their education
An estimated 1.2 million children contracted tuberculosis in 2024. Diagnosing TB in children can be particularly difficult, delaying the treatment they need to recover. (source: World Health Organization).
For children, illness can mean weeks or months away from school, lost learning, and plans for the future placed on hold.
Zainab, Omary, and Ally know what that feels like.
Their first TB tests came back negative
Eight-year-old twins Zainab and Omary developed persistent coughs and fevers at night. Their grandmother, Salma, took them to the hospital, but initial tests found no TB.
Because a close relative had recently died from the disease, the clinic sent the twins’ samples to APOPO for a second screening. HeroRATs flagged both samples for further analysis. Laboratory tests confirmed TB, the clinic was notified, and treatment began immediately.
After six months of medication, Zainab and Omary recovered. Today, they are healthy and back in school. Omary loves mathematics, while Zainab loves all her lessons and hopes to visit the HeroRATs again.
Helping clinics find 48% more TB cases
APOPO re-screens sputum samples that have already undergone routine testing at partner clinics. Research has shown that this HeroRAT-assisted approach increases TB case detection by 48% compared with routine clinic testing alone.
- Samples are collected
APOPO collects sputum samples that have already been tested at partner clinics. - HeroRATs screen them again
Trained HeroRATs use their exceptional sense of smell to indicate samples that contain TB. - Results are confirmed
Samples indicated by the rats undergo WHO-endorsed confirmatory testing. When TB is confirmed, APOPO notifies the clinic so the person can begin treatment.
This system allows large numbers of samples to receive a second screening while ensuring that every result reported to a clinic has been confirmed in the laboratory.
Finding one person can help protect many more
TB spreads through the air. According to the World Health Organization, someone with untreated TB can infect up to 10–15 people through close contact over one year. Finding TB and connecting people with treatment therefore matters far beyond a single diagnosis. It also helps reduce the risk of the disease spreading further through families and communities. World Health Organization
On average, $200 supports the full cost of finding one additional person with TB through APOPO’s program in Tanzania.
This is not the price of one test. It reflects the cost of a whole system that collects, transports, and screens thousands of samples, confirms results in the laboratory, and reports those results to partner clinics.
No one donor has to provide the full $200. Ten gifts of $20 can reach that amount together.
Your gift becomes part of the search
- $20 joins with other gifts to help screen more samples.
- $50 helps sustain the people, animals, and laboratory systems behind the screening process.
- $200 covers the average cost of finding one additional person with TB.
- A monthly gift helps keep this second line of screening operating throughout the year.
Every sample has a story. Help more people receive the answers they need.
Apopo Simple Donation