Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 Sep-Oct;91(5):366-70.
doi: 10.1007/BF03404809.

Drug resistance study of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Canada, February 1, 1993 to January 31, 1994

E Farzad  1 , D Holton, R Long, M FitzGerald, A Laszlo, H Njoo, A Fanning, E Hershfield, V Hoeppner, E Allen
Affiliations

Drug resistance study of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Canada, February 1, 1993 to January 31, 1994

E Farzad et al. Can J Public Health. 2000 Sep-Oct.

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to first-line antituberculosis drugs in Canada.

Methods: M. tuberculosis isolates from one third of all culture-positive tuberculosis (TB) cases diagnosed between February 1, 1993 to January 31, 1994 in Canada were collected prospectively. Proportion of drug-resistant isolates and the factors related to drug resistance were measured.

Results: Of 458 study cases, 40 (8.7%) had resistance to at least one first-line antituberculosis drug, of which 5.9% had mono-resistance, 0.7% had multidrug-resistance(MDR-TB)--i.e., resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampin--and 2.2% had other patterns. The overall prevalence of resistance among the foreign-born cases was 10.6% with the highest level among those who resided in Canada for less than four years (15.5%).

Conclusions: Canada has a relatively low prevalence of antituberculosis drug resistance and a very low prevalence of MDR-TB. Some new immigrants to Canada may be at higher risk for drug resistance and their initial treatment needs to be tailored accordingly.

Objectif: Évaluer la prévalence de la résistance du mycobacterium tuberculosis contre le médicament antituberculeux de première ligne au Canada.

Méthodes: Le mycobacterium tuberculosis repère un tiers de tous les cas de cultures tuberculosis qui ont fait l’objet d’un diagnostic positif entre le 1er février 1993 et le 31 janvier 1994 au Canada; ces données ont été collectées de manière prospective. On a mesuré la proportion de repère des médicaments résistants et les facteurs reliés à la résistance du médicament.

Résultats: Sur 458 cas étudiés, 40 (8,7 %) se sont avérés résistants à au moins un médicament antituberculeux de première ligne dont 5,9 % se sont avérés résistants à un seul médicament et 0,7 % ont une résistance à plusieurs médicaments (MDR-TB) — c.-à-d. résistants à au moins deux médicaments: l’isoniazid et le rifampin — et 2,2 % avaient d’autres caractéristiques. La prévalence globale de la résistance parmi les cas venus de l’étranger était de 10,6 % dont le niveau le plus élevé a résidé au Canada pendant moins de quatre ans (15,5 %).

Conclusions: Au Canada, la prévalence de la résistance des médicaments antituberculeux est relativement faible. Certains nouveaux arrivants peuvent présenter un risque plus élevé de résistance aux médicaments et leur traitement initial doit être personnalisé en conséquence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Antituberculosis Drug resistance in the World, The WHO/IUATLD Global Project on Antituberculosis Drug Resistance Surveillance 1994–1997, WHO 1997.
    1. Edlin BR, Tokars JL, Grieco MH, et al. An outbreak of multidrugresistant tuberculosis among hospitalized patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. N Engl J Med. 1992;326:1514–21. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199206043262302. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Frieden T, Sterling T, Pablos-Méndez A, et al. The emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis in New York City. N Engl J Med. 1993;328:521–26. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199302253280801. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Monno L, Angarano G, Carbonara S, et al. Emergence of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients. Lancet. 1991;337:852. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)92559-K. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Herrera D, Cano R, Godoy P, et al. Multidrugresistant tuberculosis outbreak on an HIV ward-Madrid, Spain, 1991–1995. MMWR. 1996;45:330–33. - PubMed

Substances