Transmission and Infection with Drug-Resistant M. tuberculosis

Microbial resistance to antimicrobial agents will, almost certainly, be one of the most daunting issues in the treatment of infectious diseases in the near and distant future. Currently, this problem is clearly manifested in the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. In the case of drug-resistant TB (DRTB) and other drug-resistant microbes, a slightly optimistic prediction suggests that the biologic burden of maintaining drug resistance may disadvantage a given organism in terms of pathophysiology postinfection. To test this hypothesis, researchers in Peru prospectively compared the transmissibility (development of a positive tuberculin test) and progression of disease (positive sputum stain or culture or radiographic evid…