Setting: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients enrolled for treatment at government health facilities in a sub-district of Thiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, India.
Objectives: To determine the drug susceptibility profile among PTB patients admitted to treatment according to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP).
Methodology: From May 1999 to December 2003, two additional sputum samples were collected from all patients at the start of anti-tuberculosis treatment under DOTS and were transported to a central laboratory for Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST).
Results: DST results were available for 1603 new sputum smear-positive patients; 85% of patients had organisms fully susceptible to streptomycin (S), isoniazid (H) and rifampicin (R), 10.4% any resistance to H and 1.7% to HR. Of 443 patients with history of previous anti-tuberculosis treatment, 59% had organisms susceptible to S, H and R, 37% had any resistance to H and 11.7% to HR.
Conclusion: The DST profile showed that the vast majority of patients have drug-susceptible organisms, and that currently recommended regimens under the RNTCP would be effective in the treatment of TB.