National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)-Mbeya Medical Research Centre 1 article published in JoVE Immunology and Infection A Tuberculosis Molecular Bacterial Load Assay (TB-MBLA) Wilber Sabiiti1, Bariki Mtafya1,2, Daniela Alferes De Lima1, Evelin Dombay1, Vincent O. Baron1, Khalide Azam3, Katarina Oravcova4, Derek J. Sloan1, Stephen H. Gillespie1 1Division of Infection and Global Health, School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, 2National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)-Mbeya Medical Research Centre, 3Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), Ministério da Saúde, 4Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow We describe a tuberculosis molecular bacterial load assay test performed after heat inactivation of sputum. Heat inactivation renders sputum samples noninfectious and obviates the need for containment level 3 laboratories for tuberculosis molecular tests.