Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis: Trends and Control

Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been an area of growing concern and is posing a threat to the control of tuberculosis (TB). The exact magnitude of problem of resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs worldwide was not known till the 1994-97 global project on anti-tuberculosis drug resistance surveillance initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD). The Global Tuberculosis Report 2014 estimated that an 3.5% of newly diagnosed and 20.5% of previously treated.TB cases had MDR-TB. It has been estimated that 480,000 cases emerged and 210,000 deaths occurred due to MDR-TB globally in 2013. In India, estimates showed that the prevalence of MDR-TB among new and previously treated patients was 2.2% and 15%, respectively. It is estimated that 99,000 cases of MDR-TB emerge every year of which 62,000 were among notified cases of TB in 2013. The MDR-TB is a human-made problem and results largely from poorly managed cases of TB. Adequate, timely diagnosis and optimal treatment of MDR-TB will help curb the epidemic. Efforts must be focused on the effective use of anti-tuberculosis drugs in every new patient, so as to prevent the emergence of MDR-TB.