Prevalence of drug resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Chiniot, Pakistan

Abstract

Introduction:

Tuberculosis is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among developing countries, and conditions are getting worse with the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Pakistan is trying to deal with TB but a substantial number of cases are still recorded every year.

Materials and methods:

A cross sectional study was designed and sputum samples from the suspected individuals were tested for acid fast bacilli (AFB) and samples were further evaluated for the prevalence of rifampicin resistant MTB by Cepheid Xpert® MTB/Rif assay. The diagnosis of patients for TB prevalence was made on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms with the lab results.

Results:

The present study enrolled 6110 suspected individuals, out of which 900 (14.7%) were diagnosed with TB and there 511(8.3%) were males and 389(6.3%) were females. The highest (18.4%) prevalence of TB cases was found in ages 45-54 (years) and considerably high (16.5%) TB frequency was observed in ages 15-24 (years). Study found statistically non-significant relationship (p-value=0.523) between gender and prevalence of MTB infection. Result indicated that 18 (0.3%) patients have been established with rifampicin resistant TB (RR-TB) and among those cases 13(0.21%) and 5(0.08%) were males and females respectively. 

Conclusion:

A substantial number of TB cases and resistant TB cases were detected in current study from different areas of Chiniot, Pakistan. It has now become crucial to increase the awareness about TB from the perspective of general health concern of population so that the spread of infection could be reduced.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, prevalence, antibiotics, rifampicin resistance