Absence of full drug-susceptibility data for TB patients can result in amplifying resistance: study

Based on data of TB drug-resistance profile by whole genome sequencing of 600 clinical samples from TB patients in India, the findings show that this can compromise treatment outcomes.

The study notes that while TB stands as the second leading infectious disease killer globally with over 29.5 lakh active cases reported in 2020 alone in India, 1.35 lakh of these cases were classified as multi-drug resistant TB cases. Image for representation purposes only.  

The study notes that while TB stands as the second leading infectious disease killer globally with over 29.5 lakh active cases reported in 2020 alone in India, 1.35 lakh of these cases were classified as multi-drug resistant TB cases. Image for representation purposes only.

In presumptive multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis cases, whole genome sequencing revealed that pre-extensively drug-resistant TB (pre-XDR-TB) was present in 50.83% of cases, while MDR-TB was found in 15.5% with nearly equivalent proportions among men and women, found a study conducted by an IIT Mumbai start-up in collaboration with Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Pune.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/absence-of-full-drug-susceptibility-data-for-tb-patients-can-result-in-amplifying-resistance-study/article68071993.ece