Epidemiology of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis in Northern India

Abstract

India is the world's second most populous country, accounting for a quarter of the world's annual incidence of tuberculosis (TB). Every year around 2 million people develop TB in India and 300,000 die due to the TB. The emergence of drug-resistant-TB (DR-TB) has become a major public health concern in India. This situation is worsened by the appearance of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We sought to determine the characteristics and relative frequency of transmission of MDR-TB in North India and their association with the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of TB-patients and to mitigate the impeding drug-resistant TB epidemic in the country; it will help to established TB surveillance system effectively in the country. Diagnosis of MDR-TB prompts an appropriate treatment for patients with presumptive MDR-TB or rifampicin resistance in TB patients who have failed treatment with first-line drugs. If left undiagnosed or poorly treated, MDR-TB patients suffer for months to years before succumbing to the disease; hence, transmission of MDR-TB continues MDR-TB patients were found to be significantly higher in previously treated patients in comparison to newly diagnosed patients. The emerging drug susceptibility testing patterns and enlisting the help of an expert in DR-TB should be sought sooner rather than later through more than 100 established DR-TB centers across the country. To control the primary transmission of MDR-TB in Northern India, we recommend that improving the social support, living standards, and medical security of each patient should become a priority.