Association of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis with M.tuberculosis Beijing genotype among new cases in Kazakhstan

The wide distribution of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the main healthcare issues in Kazakhstan. The study aims to evaluate the association of drug-resistant TB with the Beijing genotype and different clinical forms among new TB cases in Kazakhstan. 391 clinical isolates of <italic>M.tuberculosis</italic> were obtained from patients with different clinical TB forms. Drug susceptibility testing (DST) was done for first-line anti-TB drugs using the BACTEC-MGIT 960 system. <italic>M.tuberculosis</italic> isolates were genotyped using the 24 MIRU-VNTR approach. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS and MedCalc online. DST results showed that 55,8% (218/391) of isolates were drug-resistant. Among resistant TB cases, 56,4% (123/218) of samples were MDR (resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid). MIRU-VNTR genotyping identified the Beijing genotype in 62,7% (245/391) of cases. In our study, the Beijing genotype was strongly associated with drug-resistant TB (p<0,0001), including MDR-TB (p=0,0002), but did not correlate with any clinical TB forms (p>0,05). Statistical analysis of various clinical TB forms with different forms of drug resistance only indicated an association of focal TB with drug-susceptibility (p=0,0272; OR=0,0950; 95% CI: 0,0118-0,7675). Beijing genotype plays an important role in the distribution of drug-resistant, especially MDR-TB in Kazakhstan. Focal TB is caused by drug-susceptible isolates, mostly by non-Beijing genotypes, which is promising for treatment success. Funding: This research was funded by a grant from Nazarbayev University under Collaborative Research Program №11022021CRP1511, U.K.