High Rates of Potentially Infectious Tuberculosis and Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) among Hospital Inpatients in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa Indicate Risk of Nosocomial Transmission

Abstract

One in five inpatients had potentially infectious TB. This is an underestimate since patients without current cough were not tested. MDR-TB was frequently observed and was found in nearly one in six active TB inpatients. While present at lower levels than the original outbreak report at CoSH, XDR-TB was detected in hospitals throughout KZN. The high burden of potentially infectious TB and confirmed MDR-TB, much of it undiagnosed, indicates a serious risk for nosocomial transmission and the need for intensified infection control within the inpatient setting.