BACKGROUND Drug resistance rates are one of the most important aspects in the national tuberculosis (TB) control program, and drug-resistant TB, especially extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB, is not well understood in Taiwan. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of drug resistance from 2000 through 2006 and to identify XDR TB isolates to elucidate the clinical charac...

BACKGROUND India with a major burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) does not have national level data on this hazardous disease. Since 2006, emergence of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is considered a serious threat to global TB control. This study highlights the demographic and clinical risk factors associated with XDR-TB in Delhi. METHODS The study was conducted during...

Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has recently emerged as a global health problem and pose a significant threat to TB control programmes. XDR-TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to at least isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), any fluoroquinolone (FQs) and any of the three second line injectable drugs [amikacin, kanamycin (aminoglycosides) or capreomycin (polypeptide...

BACKGROUND Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) are now major threats in areas of South Africa with a high prevalence of TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The role of exogenous reinfection as a cause of MDR and XDR TB in these settings has not been determined. METHODS We reviewed data from patients with culture-positive TB who lat...

BACKGROUND Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii are a threat to hospitalized patients. We evaluated the effects of antimicrobial combinations on XDR P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii isolates. METHODS P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii isolates, which were resistant to all antibiotics except colistin (CL), were collected from eight hospitals in Korea. G...

BACKGROUND Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) are global health problems. We sought to determine the characteristics, prevalence, and relative frequency of transmission of MDR and XDR TB in Shanghai, one of the largest cities in Asia. METHODS TB is diagnosed in district TB hospitals in Shanghai, China. Drug susceptibility testing for first-line dr...

BACKGROUND The multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) has emerged as a global threat. Xinjiang is a multi-ethnic region and suffered second highest incidence of TB in China. However, epidemiological information on MDR and XDR TB is scarcely investigated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A prospective study was conducted to analyze the prevalence of MDR ...

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, the causative agent of typhoid. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates are prevalent in parts of Asia and Africa and are often associated with the dominant H58 haplotype. Reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones is also widespread, and sporadic cases of resistance to third-generation cephalosporins or azithromycin have...

The intestinal reservoir is central to the epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but the dynamics of intestinal colonization by different phenotypes have been poorly described. To determine the impact of antimicrobial exposure on intestinal colonization by multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) P. aeruginosa, we screened intensive care unit (ICU) patients for rectal co...

BACKGROUND There is a lack of information on the clinical characteristics of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB in the Jiangxi Province of China; furthermore, data have not been reported on the utility of mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) analyses in genotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains ...