Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the United Kingdom and Lithuania

Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2014 Jun;18(6):663-5. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.13.0342.

Abstract

Rates of resistance to first- and second-line drugs in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in the United Kingdom were studied during 2010-2012. The highest rates for ethambutol, pyrazinamide and aminoglycosides occurred among patients originating in Eastern Europe, of whom 47% were Lithuanian. Rates of resistance to kanamycin were significantly lower (P < 0.0001) in the Lithuanian National TB Register than among Lithuanian patients resident in the United Kingdom (5% vs. 78%). In 2010, the majority of UK patients of Eastern European origin were located within the London region, whereas in 2011 the majority were located outside this region, a significant change (P = 0.01).

MeSH terms

  • Antitubercular Agents / therapeutic use
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial*
  • Emigrants and Immigrants
  • Emigration and Immigration
  • Humans
  • Lithuania / ethnology
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Prevalence
  • Registries
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / diagnosis
  • Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / ethnology*
  • Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / microbiology
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents