title: Fighting an old disease with modern tools: characteristics and molecular detection methods of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease, but not a disease of the past. The increasing prevalence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, demands new measures to combat the situation. Rapid and accurate detection of the pathogen, and its drug susceptibility pattern, is essential for timely initiation of treatment, and ultimately, control of the disease. Molecular-based methods offer a great chance to improve detection of drug-resistant TB; however, their development and usage should be accompanied with a profound understanding of drug resistance mechanisms and circulating M. tuberculosis strains in specific settings, as otherwise, the usefulness of such tests may be limited. This review gives an overview of the history of TB treatment and drug resistance, drug resistance mechanisms for the most commonly used drugs and molecular methods designed to detect drug-resistant strains.
authors.affiliation: a From the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology , Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden and Molecular Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel , Borstel , Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engström
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
keywords: MDR-TB; XDR-TB; drug resistance; infection control; next-generation; sequencing