In this proof-of-concept study, we aimed to determine the plasma concentrations of CC (CCL1, CCL2, CCL3, CCL4 and CCL11) and CXC (CXCL1 CXCL2, CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11) chemokines as markers capable of discriminating among children who were microbiology positive (confirmed TB) or those negative but clinically diagnosed and treated (unconfirmed TB) compared with unlikely TB children in a prospectively recruited cohort for the study. Here, CCL2 is linked to tuberculosis.