Pattern of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis in HIV Sero Positive Patients in Rivers State Nigeria..

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health issue, especially among immune-compromised individuals, with a high mortality rate. The existence of drug-resistant TB strains, compounded by the high prevalence of HIV, makes it difficult to cure the disease. Nigeria is reportedly one of the top 30 countries with the highest rates of tuberculosis, tuberculosis/HIV, and drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). The current study looked at Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to first-line anti-TB drugs among people living with tuberculosis and HIV in Rivers State. Methods: A total of 260 HIV-positive patients were divided into two groups: 130 patients on anti-TB treatment and 130 patients who had not yet started anti-TB treatment. Sputum samples were obtained and analysed using a line probe assay (HAIN Lifescience's GenoType®MTBDRplus). The study found that 61.5 percent of the subjects with TB/HIV coinfection were between the ages of 26 and 40, with an average age of 37.2 9.5 years (102) Drug susceptible TB was found in 64.1 percent of the subjects, while INH mono-resistant TB was found in 24 (15%), RIF mono-resistant TB was found in 17 (10.7%), and multi-drug resistant TB was found in 16 (10.1%). There was no discernible difference in the prevalence of drug resistance between men and women. The findings also revealed that 11.0 percent of people undergoing anti-TB treatment had MDR-TB; mono-resistance to INH and RIF was found in 15.7 percent and 11.8 percent of these people, respectively. 6.3 percent of those who had not yet received anti-TB medication had 12.5 percent of MDR-TB patients had INH mono-resistant TB, while 6.3 percent had RIF mono-resistant TB. Conclusion: The study's results suggest that drug-resistant tuberculosis is common among people in Rivers State, Nigeria, who have TB and HIV co-infection.

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