Cases of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Are on the Rise

Cases of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Are on the Rise

The prevalence of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is increasing around the world, and the dangerous bacterial infection is becoming more resistant to many of the drugs that were once successful in treating it, according to a study published in the August issue of Lancet.

Researchers from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested samples from 1,278 patients with pulmonary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis from eight countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and South America, assessing their resistance to both front-line and second-line drugs. Results showed that 43.7% of the samples were resistant to at least one second-line drug, and 20% were resistant to at least one second-line injectable medication. Those who had previously undergone treatment with a second-line drug were more likely to exhibit resistance to both front-line and second-line medications.

Researchers also found that 6.7% of the patients tested had XDR-TB, which suggests that the World Health Organization’s estimation that only 5% of TB cases exhibit resistance to the most commonly used medications may be too low.

While the treatment of traditional TB can take months, recovering from XDR-TB can take years, which emphasizes the need to develop effective treatment protocols that can be implemented internationally to prevent an epidemic of an essentially untreatable disease.