Totally drug-resistant tuberculosis

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Totally drug-resistant tuberculosis (TDR-TB) is a generic term for tuberculosis strains that are resistant to a wider range of drugs than strains classified as extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis is tuberculosis that is resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin, any fluoroquinolone, and any of the three second line injectable TB drugs (amikacin, capreomycin, and kanamycin). [1] TDR-TB has been identified in three countries; India, Iran, and Italy. The term was first presented in 2006, in which it showed that TB was resistant to many second line drugs and possibly all the medicines used to treat the disease. Lack of testing made it unclear which drugs the TDR-TB were resistant to.

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The emergence of TDR-TB has been documented in four major publications. However, it is not recognized by the World Health Organization. [1] This is because the term defined as "totally drug resistant", has not been applied to the disease of tuberculosis. Certain strains of TB have not been properly tested to be deemed resistant due to lack of in vitro testing. [2]

TDR-TB has resulted from further mutations within the bacterial genome to confer resistance, beyond those seen in XDR- and MDR-TB. Development of resistance is associated with poor management of cases. As of 2011, drug susceptibility testing is done in less than 5% of TB cases globally [3] Without testing to determine drug resistance profiles, MDR- or XDR-TB patients may develop resistance to additional drugs and can continue to spread the disease to others. TDR-TB is relatively poorly documented, as many countries do not test patient samples against a broad enough range of drugs to diagnose such a comprehensive array of resistance. The United Nations' Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases has set up the TDR Tuberculosis Specimen Bank to archive specimens of TDR-TB. [4]

There have been a few examples of cases in several countries, including India, Iran, and Italy. Cases of TDR-TB have also been reported in the United States. The first case was found in a young man from Peru named Oswaldo Juarez. Juarez was in the United States for school and to study the English language. About a year later he was voluntarily sent to A.G. Holley State Hospital. They treated him with unconventional drugs that are not usually used for TB in extremely high doses. He stayed in that hospital for over nineteen months, but left cured of TB. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 "WHO | Drug-resistant TB: Totally drug-resistant TB FAQ". WHO. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  2. Prasad, Rajendra; Singh, Abhijeet; Balasubramanian, Viswesvaran; Gupta, Nikhil (March 2017). "Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in India: Current evidence on diagnosis & management". The Indian Journal of Medical Research. 145 (3): 271–293. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_177_16 (inactive 2024-11-02). ISSN   0971-5916. PMC   5555056 . PMID   28749390.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  3. Rowland, Katherine (2012). "Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India". Nature News. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.9797. S2CID   84692169.
  4. Nathanson CM, Cuevas LE, Cunningham J, Perkins MD, Peeling RW, Guillerm M, Moussy F, Ramsay A (November 2010). "The TDR Tuberculosis Specimen Bank: a resource for diagnostic test developers". The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 14 (11): 1461–7. PMID   20937188.
  5. "Totally Drug Resistant TB | Extremely, TDR, Italy, United States, India, curing TDR, WHO". TB Facts. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-08-15.