Find in Library

Russia is a high-burden area for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Here, we studied the epidemiological situation and drug resistance patterns of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> in the Omsk region in Western Siberia. <i>M. tuberculosis</i> isolates (<i>n</i> = 851) were recovered from newly diagnosed TB patients in 2021. The isolates were tested by bacteriological and molecular methods, and long-term epidemiological data were analyzed. The TB incidence dec, this is not variablereased from 93.9 in 2012 to 48.1 in 2021, per 100,000 population, but the primary MDR-TB rate increased from 19.2% to 26.4%. The destructive forms of tuberculosis accounted for 37.8% of all cases, while 35.5% of patients were smear-positive. Of all isolates tested, 55.2% were culture-positive, of which 94.5% were further tested for phenotypic drug resistance and associated mutations. More than half (53.4%) of isolates were drug-resistant, 13.9% were monoresistant and 67.9% were MDR. Among MDR isolates, 40.4% were pre-XDR, and 19.2% were XDR. The spectrum of drug resistance included second-line drugs (new-generation fluoroquinolones, linezolid), which significantly increase the risk of an adverse outcome in patients. In conclusion, our results highlight the critical importance of monitoring drug resistance in circulating <i>M. tuberculosis</i> strains emerging due to ineffective treatment and active transmission.