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Scientists Report an Increase in Drug Resistant TB Worldwide

The World Health Organization has just released findings regarding a large increase in the number of tuberculosis outbreaks in the former Soviet Union this week. This study is the first of its kind to be released in the past 4 years.

Many of these tuberculosis strains are resistant to multiple drug options; the highest rate of outbreak was reported in Bake, the capital of Azerbaijan. Additional outbreaks of the drug resistant strain of tuberculosis were reported in China.

The report suggests that the cause of these outbreaks is due in part to the country’s failure to invest into equipment, staff and laboratories to detect the disease earlier in the process. Also, these countries along with several others have not been providing the necessary drugs to patients or ensuring proper follow up to treatment to those that are infected with the disease. When there is inadequate drug therapy, there is often a development of drug resistant strains.

According to the World Health Organization, “about one in twenty cases of tuberculosis in the world is resistant to the first line of drugs”. The true extent of the problem still is yet to be known, but it is currently a much more widespread problem than researchers had originally thought.

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