New tuberculosis study findings have been reported by I. Mokrousov and co-researchers
March 9th, 2009
2009 MAR 9 -- According to recent research from Russia, "The Kaliningrad region is the westernmost part of the Russian Federation; it includes an enclave on the Baltic Sea inside the European Union separated from mainland Russia by Lithuania and Poland. The incidence of tuberculosis in Kaliningrad has shown a steady and dramatic increase from 83/100 000 in 2000 to 134/100 000 in 2006; the rate of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-tuberculosis) in the Kaliningrad region was reported to be 30.5% among newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients."
"This study presents a first molecular snapshot of the population diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in this region. A total of 90 drug-resistant and susceptible M. tuberculosis strains from Kaliningrad were subjected to spoligotyping, 12-locus MIRU typing and mutation analysis of the drug resistance genes rpoB and katG. A comparison with international databases showed that the M. tuberculosis population in this region shares a joint pool of strains with the European part of Russia, and also exhibits a certain affinity with those of its northern European neighbours, such as Poland and Germany," wrote I. Mokrousov and colleagues.
The researchers concluded: "Comparison of the genotyping and drug resistance data emphasized that the high prevalence of the MDR Beijing genotype strains is a major cause of the adverse epidemiological situation of MDR-tuberculosis in the Kaliningrad region."
Mokrousov and colleagues published their study in Fems Immunology and Medical Microbiology (At Baltic crossroads: a molecular snapshot of Mycobacterium tuberculosis population diversity in Kaliningrad, Russia. Fems Immunology and Medical Microbiology, 2009;55(1):13-22).
For additional information, contact I. Mokrousov, St. Petersburg Pasteur Institute, Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Publisher contact information for the journal Fems Immunology and Medical Microbiology is: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., Commerce Place, 350 Main St., Malden 02148, MA, USA.
Keywords: Russia, Cutaneous Tuberculosis, Drug Development, Drug Resistance, Immunology, Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis, Mycobacteria, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Therapy, Treatment.
This article was prepared by Anti-Infectives Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Anti-Infectives Week via NewsRx.com.
