BACKGROUND To describe the epidemiology and possible risk factors for the development of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Namibia. METHODS Using medical records and patient questionnaires, we conducted a case-control study among patients diagnosed with TB between January 2007 and March 2009. Cases were defined as patients with laboratory-confirmed MDR-TB; controls had laboratory-c...

BACKGROUND Limited information about the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) has been reported from India, the country with the world's highest burden of TB. We conducted a representative state-wide survey in the state of Gujarat (2005 population: 56 million). METHODS Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from a representative sample of new and previously treated smear-positive pulmo...

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is well described in the literature. Reports of MDR TB meningitis (MDR-TBM), however, are limited to case reports and a single case series. During the period of 1999-2002, 350 patients with TBM were identified by cerebrospinal fluid culture for TB. Thirty patients (8.6%) had TB that was resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin. All 30 ...

Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been an area of growing concern and is posing a threat to the control of tuberculosis (TB). The exact magnitude of problem of resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs worldwide was not known till the 1994-97 global project on anti-tuberculosis drug resistance surveillance initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Union Against ...

BACKGROUND We conducted a cohort study to compare the characteristics of MDR-TB with non-MDR-TB patients and to measure long term (9-year) mortality rate and determine factors associated with death in China. METHODS We reviewed the medical records of 250 TB cases from a 2001 survey to compare 100 MDR-TB patients with 150 non-MDR-TB patients who were treated in 2001-2002. Baseline attributes e...

The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) has raised public health concern about global control of TB. To estimate the transmission dynamics of MDR and XDR TB, we conducted a DNA fingerprinting analysis of 55 MDR/XDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from TB patients throughout Japan in 2002. Twenty-one (38%) of the st...

We read with interest the excellent letter by HOLTZ and CEGIELSKI [1] contributing to the current discussion on extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-tuberculosis (TB). Several publications have already demonstrated that resistance to fluoroquinolones (FQ) is independently associated with poor outcome and/or that the possibility of including FQ in regimens improves treatment outcomes of multidrug-re...

BACKGROUND The spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) strains has been a big challenge to the TB control and prevention in China. Knowledge about patterns of drug resistance in TB high-burden areas of China is crucial to develop appropriate control strategies. We conducted a comprehensive investigation of the resistance pattern of M. tub...

Thailand's implementation of the Directly Observed Treatment, Short course (DOTS) strategy to increase tuberculosis (TB) control program efficacy has not achieved the World Health Organization (WHO) TB key targets. We defined two TB control models in the study. Patients in Model 1 were treated with a conventional DOTS strategy and in Model 2, patients were treated the same as Model method 1 but...

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health problem in the Western Cape, with an incidence exceeding 900 per 100 000 people. Nosocomial transmission of TB, and particularly drug-resistant TB, is a potential risk that may be undetected. Rapid diagnosis and rapid institution of effective anti-TB treatment, combined with appropriate infection control measures, are essential to prevent nosocomia...