Frequency of drug-resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Chiniot, Pakistan

Introduction: Tuberculosis is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among developing countries, and conditions are getting worse with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Pakistan is trying to deal with TB but a substantial number of cases are still recorded every year.<br> Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was designed and sputum samples from the suspected individuals were tested for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) and samples were further evaluated for the frequency of rifampicin-resistant MTB by Cepheid Xpert® MTB/Rif assay. The diagnosis of patients for TB Frequency was made based on clinical signs and symptoms with the lab results.<br> Results: The present study enrolled 6110 suspected individuals, out of which 900 (14.7%) were diagnosed with TB of which 511(8.3%) were males and 389(6.3%) were females. The highest (18.4%) frequency of TB cases was found in ages 45-54 (years) and substantially high (16.5%) TB cases were observed in ages 15-24 (years). Results indicated that 18 (0.3%) patients have been established with rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) and among those cases, 13(0.21%) and 5(0.08%) were males and females respectively.<br> Conclusion: The current study concluded that a substantial number of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) cases were existing more in males than females from different areas of Chiniot, Pakistan and Xpert® MTB/Rif assay was observed to be an accurate and rapid tool to diagnose MTB.