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Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) is not a new public health problem, but it rose to the forefront in 2006, when several reports detailed its prevalence and severity, particularly among HIV-coinfected patients.
In an international, retrospective survey of nearly 18,000 TB isolates collected from 2000 through 2004, 20% of samples were multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB, and 10% of these (or 2% overall) were XDR TB (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2006; 55:301). A smaller survey in Iran yielded similar results, with 11% of MDR TB strains identified as XDR TB (Clin Infect Dis 2006; 43:841). Although XDR TB is present throughout the world, the international survey suggests that it is most common in Asia and Eastern Europe. However, because of…