Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in an Area of Low Endemicity in 2004 to 2006: Semiquantitative Drug Susceptibility Testing and Genotyping

Abstract

We determined the quantitative levels and the genetic mechanisms of resistance in drug-resistant clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis sampled over a period of 3 years (n = 45; 17 of the isolate were multidrug resistant). Our results led us to hypothesize that some strains categorized as resistant to isoniazid, ethambutol, or streptomycin by standard laboratory procedures of in vitro drug susceptibility testing may still respond to a treatment regimen that includes these agents.