Tuberculosis Recurrence And Mortality After Successful Treatment: Impact Of Drug Resistance

Main Category: Tuberculosis
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  MRSA / Drug Resistance
Article Date: 06 Oct 2006 - 10:00 PDT

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A study of tuberculosis treatment in Uzbekistan found there were high rates of disease recurrence among patients whose treatment had initially been successful. Uzbekistan has long had a major TB problem and, as recommended by the World Health Organization, it introduced the DOTS (directly observed treatment short-course) form of treatment beginning in 1998. An international team of researchers followed the condition of some 200 patients with TB over a period of several months. The death rate was high, with 15% of patients dying per year. While 74% of new cases were "successfully" treated, 34% of these patients were subsequently rediagnosed with TB. Many cases of drug-resistant forms of TB were found. The researchers concluded that, where TB is common and many cases are drug resistant, DOTS treatment alone will not be sufficient to control the spread of the disease.

Citation: Cox H, Kebede Y, Allamuratova S, Ismailov G, Davletmuratova Z, et al. (2006) Tuberculosis recurrence and mortality after successful treatment: Impact of drug resistance. PLoS Med 3(10): e384. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030384.

PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030384

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Helen Cox
The University of Melbourne
Australian International Health Institute
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