Why is multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) on the increase?
A volunteer supports patients on treatment One weeks TB drugs in India Bacteria become resistant to drugs for a number of reasons. Medication may not be taken correctly, or patients may stop taking medication as soon as the symptoms disappear, but before the course is finished. In many developing countries, prescribing by private doctors is unsupervised. MDR-TB is also then transmitted to others, which exacerbates the problem. The WHO has stressed the importance of the DOTS strategy to ensure patients complete their course of treatment and avoid further spread of the disease. Of even greater concern is the emergence of XDR-TB (extensive drug-resistant TB), which is MDR-TB with additional resistance to 3 or more of the second-line treatments.
