Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the United Kingdom and Lithuania

• Published in: The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 663 - 665
• Main Authors: Gonzalo, X., Hutchison, D. C. S., Drobniewski, F. A., Pimkina, E., Davidaviciene, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 01.06.2014; International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
• Subjects: Aminoglycoside Resistance; Antitubercular Agents - therapeutic use; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Drug Susceptibility Testing; Emigrants and Immigrants; Emigration and Immigration; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Lithuania - ethnology; Mdr-Tb; Medical sciences; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Mycobacterium; Pneumology; Prevalence; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant - diagnosis; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant - drug therapy; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant - ethnology; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant - microbiology; United Kingdom - epidemiology; Xdr-Tb; United Kingdom; Lithuania; Eastern Europe; Europe; Treatment resistance; Drug susceptibility test; Respiratory disease; MDR-TB; drug susceptibility testing; MDR tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; aminoglycoside resistance; Mycobacteriales; Aminoglycoside; Multiple resistance; Mycobacteriaceae; Bacteria; Actinomycetes; Antituberculous agent; XDR-TB; Antibacterial agent
• DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.13.0342
• ISSN: 1027-3719

Rates of resistance to first- and second-line drugs in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in the United Kingdom were studied during 2010-2012. The highest rates for ethambutol, pyrazinamide and aminoglycosides occurred among patients originating in Eastern Europe, of whom 47% were Lithuanian. Rates of resistance to kanamycin were significantly lower (P < 0.0001) in the Lithuanian National TB Register than among Lithuanian patients resident in the United Kingdom (5% vs. 78%). In 2010, the majority of UK patients of Eastern European origin were located within the London region, whereas in 2011 the majority were located outside this region, a significant change (P = 0.01).