An Introduction to Drug-Resistant TB
Some people with
tuberculosis (TB) do not get better with
tuberculosis treatment because their disease is caused by a TB strain that is resistant to one or more of the standard tuberculosis medicines. This is known as drug-resistant TB.
Who Drug-Resistant TB Affects
Drug-resistant TB is more common in people who:
- Have spent time with someone with drug-resistant TB
- Do not take their medicine regularly
- Do not take all of their medicine as prescribed
- Develop active TB again, after having taken TB medicine in the past
- Come from areas where drug-resistant TB is common.
Sometimes the tuberculosis bacteria become resistant to two or more of the most important medicines: isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RIF). This is called multidrug-resistant TB. This is a very serious problem. People with multidrug-resistant TB must be treated with several antibiotics every day for up to 2 years. The bacteria must respond to at least 3 of these other antibiotics. These medicines are not as good as the usual medicines for TB, and they may cause more side effects. Also, most people with multidrug-resistant TB must see a TB expert who can closely observe their treatment to make sure it is working.
Even with this treatment, between four and six out of 10 patients with multidrug-resistant TB will die, which is the same rate seen with TB patients who are not treated.
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