title: A close-up on the epidemiology and transmission of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Poland.
abstract: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) poses a serious challenge to the global control of the disease. The purpose of this study was to characterize MDR-TB patients from Poland and to determine the extent of MDR-TB disease attributable to recent transmission. The study included all 46 patients diagnosed with MDR-TB in Poland in 2004 and followed up for 6 years (until 2011). For each patient, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes, and bacteriological data were collected by the review of medical and laboratory records. Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from all patients were characterized using spoligotyping, mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing, IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, and sequencing analysis of drug resistance-associated loci (katG, mabA-inhA, rpoβ, rpsL, and embB). The majority of patients were male (86.9%), 40-64 years of age (60.8%), with a history of TB treatment (84.8%), and producing smear-positive sputa (86.9%). Twenty-two (47.8%) patients suffered from concomitant diseases and 28 (60.8%) were alcohol abusers. Treatment outcome assessment revealed that 8 (17.4%) patients were cured or completed therapy, while 15 (32.6%) died of TB, 11 (23.9%) defaulted, 8 (17.4%) failed, and 1 (2.2%) was transferred and lost to follow-up. Upon genotyping, 10 (21.7%) isolates were allocated in four clusters. These were further subdivided by mutational profiling. Overall, in 6 (13%) patients, MDR-TB was a result of recent transmission. For 4 (8.7%) of these patients, a direct epidemiological link was established. The study shows that the transmission of MDR-TB occurs at a low rate in Poland. Of urgent need is the implementation of a policy of enforced treatment of MDR-TB patients in Poland.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, I. Miecznikowa 1, 02-096, Warsaw, Poland. t.jagielski@biol.uw.edu.pl.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jagielski
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Mycobacterium Genetics and Physiology, Institute of Medical Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brzostek
authors.affiliation: bioMérieux, Clinical Unit, Microbiology R&D, La Balme Les Grottes, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Belkum
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Mycobacterium Genetics and Physiology, Institute of Medical Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dziadek
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Augustynowicz-Kopeć
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zwolska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058889:Molecular Typing; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents