Purpose: We sought to determine the characteristics and relative frequency of transmission of MDR-TB in North India and their association with the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of TB-patients.
Materials and methods: To achieve the objectives PCR-SSCP, MAS-PCR and direct DNA sequencing were used against 101 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates.
Results: Multidrug-resistant-TB isolates were found to be significantly higher (P=0.000) in previously treated patients in comparison to newly diagnosed patients. Further, significant differences (P=0.003) were observed between different age groups (Mean±SD, 28.6±11.77) of the TB patients and multidrug resistance. Most frequent mutations were observed at codons 531 and 315 of rpoB and katG genes, respectively, in MDR-TB isolates.
Conclusion: Routine surveillance of resistance to anti-TB drugs will improve timely recognition of MDR-TB cases and help prevent further transmission in Northern India.