A 24-well plate assay for simultaneous testing of first and second line drugs against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a high endemic setting

摘要

BackgroundEarly detection of drug resistance is one of the priorities of tuberculosis (TB) control programs as drug resistance is increasing. New molecular assays are only accessible for a minority of the second line drugs and their availability in high endemic settings is also hampered by high cost and logistic challenges. Therefore, we evaluated a previously developed method for drug susceptibility testing (DST) including both first- and second line anti-TB drugs for use in high endemic areas.