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During the 1990s, TB with resistance to isoniazid and rifampin-two drugs used in first-line anti-TB therapy-emerged as a major health problem across the world. This is usually called multidrug-resistance TB (MDR-TB) and when it occurs, it requires the use of second-line drugs that are less effective, more toxic and costlier.
Control of TB with extensive resistance will "rely on quality assured and internationally recommended treatment regimens administered under strict supervision" as part of the Directly Observed Therapy Short course Plus (DOTS-Plus) program, conclude the investigators. He warns that "the existence of extensive drug-resistance TB is a serious and emerging public health threat."
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TB with resistance to second-line drugs increasing
