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Drug-resistant tuberculosis is predominantly acquired by airborne transmission. Although few data exist, drug-resistant strains are believed to be less infectious than drug-susceptible strains. To further examine transmissibility, a multinational group of investigators studied tuberculosis patients in South Africa by measuring respirable colony forming units (CFUs) of Mycobacteria tuberculosis using a cough aerosol sampling system (CASS).
Two main groups of patients were analyzed: those with organisms that were rifampicin-susceptible and those with organisms that demonstrated varying degrees of drug resistance. Among 452 patients with uncontaminated specimens, 142 (31%) were CASS-positive. About 41% of patients with susceptible M. tuberculos…