Worldwide Emergence of Extensively Drug-resistant Tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that are resistant to an increasing number of second-line drugs used to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are becoming a threat to public health worldwide. We surveyed the Network of Supranational Reference Laboratories for M. tuberculosis isolates that were resistant to second-line anti-TB drugs during 2000–2004. We defined extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) as MDR-TB with further resistance to ≥3 of the 6 classes of second-line drugs. Of 23 eligible laboratories, 14 (61%) contributed data on 17,690 isolates, which reflected drug susceptibility results from 48 countries. Of 3,520 (19.9%) MDR-TB isolates, 347 (9.9%) met criteria for XDR-TB. Further investigation of population-based trends and expanded efforts to prevent drug resistance and effectively treat patients with MDR-TB are crucial for protection of public health and control of TB.