Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 associated with cavitations and treatment failure

Background Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotyping has been crucial to determining the distribution and impact of different families on disease clinical presentation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the associations among sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and M. tuberculosis lineages from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico. Methods We analyzed data from 755 patients whose isolates were typified by 24-loci mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR). The associations among patient characteristics and sublineages found were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results Among M. tuberculosis isolates, 730/755 (96.6%) were assigned to eight sublineages of lineage 4 (Euro-American). Alcohol consumption (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.528, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.041-2.243; p = 0.030), diabetes mellitus type 2 (aOR 1.625, 95% CI 1.130-2.337; p = 0.009), sputum smear positivity grade (3+) (aOR 2.198, 95% CI 1.524-3.168; p Conclusions Knowing M. tuberculosis genetic diversity plays an essential role in disease development and outcomes, and could have important implications for guiding treatment and improving tuberculosis control.