Extremely high prevalence of multidrug resistant tuberculosis in Murmansk, Russia: a population-based study

J. Mäkinen (1) , M. Marjamäki (1) , M. Haanperä-Heikkinen (1) , H. Marttila (1) , L. B. Endourova (2) , S. E. Presnova (2) , V. Mathys (3) , P. Bifani (3) , R. Ruohonen (4) , M. K. Viljanen (5) , H. Soini (1)

1 Antimicrobial Resistance Unit, Mycobacterial Laboratory
2 Murmansk Regional TB Dispensary
3 Molecular Pathology of Tuberculosis [Brussels]
4 Finnish Lung Health Association
5 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Drug resistance and molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) in the Murmansk region was investigated in a 2-year, population-based surveillance of the civilian population. During 2003 and 2004, isolates from all culture-positive cases were collected ( = 1,226). Prevalence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) was extremely high, as 114 out of 439 new cases (26.0%), and 574 out of 787 previously treated cases (72.9%) were resistant to at least isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RIF). Spoligotyping of the primary MDR-TB isolates revealed that most isolates grouped to the Beijing SIT1 genotype ( = 91, 79.8%). Isolates of this genotype were further analyzed by IS RFLP. Sequencing of gene targets associated with INH and RIF resistance further showed that the MDR-TB strains are highly homogeneous as 78% of the MDR, SIT1 strains had the same resistance-conferring mutations. The genetic homogeneity of the MDR-TB strains indicates that they are actively transmitted in Murmansk.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

J. Mäkinen, M. Marjamäki, M. Haanperä-Heikkinen, H. Marttila, L. B. Endourova, et al.. Extremely high prevalence of multidrug resistant tuberculosis in Murmansk, Russia: a population-based study. European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2011, 30 (9), pp.1119-1126. ⟨10.1007/s10096-011-1200-7⟩. ⟨hal-00677967⟩