Molecular Characterization of Multi Drug Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolated from the Patients in the Hospital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Molecular Characterization of Multi Drug Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolated from the Patients in the Hospital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Sumayya Aziz1, Abdul Rauf1, Gotam Das2, Muhammad Zahid Latif3,
Mohammed Merae Alshahrani4, Nawal E Al-Hazmi5, Ahmed Abdullah Al-Awadh4, Syed Ayaz Kazmi1, Zeeshan Anjum6 and Zahoor Iqbal7*
ABSTRACT
Globally, Pakistan, with population of around 231.4 million, is at 5th spot in the list of countries with the highest number of TB patients in the world and it is further challenged by an increase in drug-resistant TB cases. The present study was conducted to estimate multi drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis, to analyse mutations responsible for the drug resistant tuberculosis and to control the spread, better understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Azad Jammu and Kashmir state of Pakistan. A total of 463 suspected patients of AJK having mean age of 41.54 were included in this study from January 2014 to December 2015. These suspected patients were examined and their samples were tested through Gene Xpert to find out Rifampicin (Rif) resistance. A total of 3.8% Rif resistant cases were detected in Abbas Institute of Medical Science, AJK. Drug resistant genes analysis was done in National Reference Lab, Islamabad. Thirty seven TB patients were further processed through Line Probe Assay (LPA) to analyse common mutations responsible against first line drugs. Genes associated with drug resistance like katG and inhA for Isoniazid (INH), rpoB for RIF resistant isolates were checked for mutation using PCR amplification and LPA. It was observed that out of 37 MDR patients 25 patients (67.5%) had mutations in rpoB gene. Observed mutations were at codon 531 (72%) and 526 (16%) while 27 (72.9%) patients were resistant to INH. 22 (59.4%) patients had katG mutation at codon 315. The C to T transition at point -15 for inhA promoter region was also observed in 2 (0.054%) patients responsible to resist INH. Our study in Azad Jammu and Kashmir underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions in AJK to curb the spread of drug-resistant TB. There should be a large scale screening of communities for the timely detection of TB and MDR TB to reduce the disease burden and saving the lives of suffering human beings.
To share on other social networks, click on any share button. What are these?
