title: Alarming levels of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Belarus: results of a survey in Minsk.
abstract: Resistance to anti-tuberculosis (TB) medicines is a major public health threat in most countries of the former Soviet Union. As no representative and quality-assured information on the magnitude of this problem existed in Belarus, a survey was conducted in the capital city of Minsk. Between November 2009 and December 2010, 156 consecutively diagnosed new and 68 previously treated culture-positive TB patients residing in Minsk were enrolled in the survey. Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were obtained from each patient and tested for susceptibility to first- and second-line anti-TB drugs. Multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB was found in 35.3% (95% CI 27.7-42.8) of new patients and 76.5% (95% CI 66.1-86.8) of those previously treated. Overall, nearly one in two patients enrolled had MDR-TB. Extensively drug-resistant TB was reported in 15 of the 107 MDR-TB patients (14.0%, 95% CI 7.3-20.7). Patients <35 yrs of age have shown a two times higher odds ratio of multidrug-resistant TB than those aged >35 yrs. The findings of this survey in Minsk city are alarming and represent the highest proportions of MDR-TB ever recorded in the world. This study greatly contributes to the understanding of the burden of drug-resistant TB in urban areas of Belarus.
authors: Republican Scientific and Practical Centre for Pulmonology and Tuberculosis, Minsk, Belarus. alena_skrahina@tut.by
authors: Alena
authors: A
authors: Skrahina
authors: Henadz
authors: H
authors: Hurevich
authors: Aksana
authors: A
authors: Zalutskaya
authors: Evgeni
authors: E
authors: Sahalchyk
authors: Andrei
authors: A
authors: Astrauko
authors: Wayne
authors: W
authors: van Gemert
authors: Sven
authors: S
authors: Hoffner
authors: Valiantsin
authors: V
authors: Rusovich
authors: Matteo
authors: M
authors: Zignol
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015995:Prevalence; D002094:Republic of Belarus / Q000453:epidemiology; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents