An alarming rate of drug-resistant tuberculosis at Ngwelezane Hospital in northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
OBJECTIVE
To obtain a profile of tuberculosis (TB) cases caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in northern KwaZulu Natal (KZN) for 2001.


METHODS
The demographic and drug resistance characteristics were determined. A total of 251 smear and culture confirmed cases was obtained and the resistance of three major anti-tuberculosis drugs was tested using the proportion method.


RESULTS
The patients were mainly from Ngwelezane (57.8%), Stanger (23.5%) and Manguzi (18.7%); 59.0% were male; 54.2% of the isolates were obtained from new TB patients. The mean age of the TB patients was 29.6 years, with the maximum notification age range at 25-34 years. A high prevalence of drug-resistant and multiresistant TB was observed in this region. At least 55% of previously treated and 19% of new cases from all areas were resistant to at least one of the drugs tested. New patients from Ngwelezane and Manguzi area had a high prevalence of any rifampicin resistance (11.0%) and ethambutol resistance (3.9%), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that the TB epidemic in northern KZN, especially in Ngwelezane, is severe. An infrastructure to educate stakeholders about the need to ensure consistency in treatment is needed.
Lin
J
J
Department of Microbiology, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa. jlin@pixie.udw.ac.za
Sattar
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Puckree
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
D000995:Antitubercular Agents