Evaluation of dot-blot and phage replication techniques for detection of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
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Date
2005-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tanzanian Medical Journal
Abstract
We have assessed the utility of two new methods, dot-blot and
bacteriophage replication techniques, for use in a routine diagnosis
laboratory in poor resource settings in the screening of drug
resistant Mycobacteria tuberculosis by comparing with the
conventional proportion method. A total of 145 M. tuberculosis
clinical isolates were tested for resistance to rifampicin, isoniazid,
streptomycin and ethambutol. The dot blot had sensitivities of
91.7%, 100%, 93.5% and 85.7 and specificities of 99.2%, 99.2%,
99.1% and 99.2 for rifampicin, streptomycin, isoniazid and
ethambutol, respectively. The phage technique had sensitivities of
92% and 84.6% and specificities of 99.2% and 99.2%for rifampicin
and streptomycin, respectively. Both techniques yielded results
within 48 hours of receipt of the culture on solid media.
The high sensitivity and specificity coupled with rapidity of
results indicate that these methods are potentially useful tools for
screening resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs in our setting.
However, the phage replication technique, which is simpler and
technically less demanding, seems the most suitable for routine
screening of drug resistant mycobacteria in resource deprived
countries such as Tanzania. We are recommending further field
evaluation of the phage replication method so that it can
complement, and possibly replace, the conventional proportion
method in drug susceptibility testing.
Description
Keywords
Mycobaterium tuberculosis, Drug susceptility testing, Dot blot
Citation
Mshanga, I.M., Matee, M.I.N., Nyambo, T.B. and McNerney, R., 2005. Evaluation of dot-blot and phage replication techniques for detection of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tanzanian Med. J, 20, pp.22-25.