YOU ARE HERE:
Multidrug-resistant TB
TB that is resistant to isoniazid, rifampicin, and to other drugs as well, is becoming more and more common. This is called multidrug-resistant TB and cases have been seen in HIV-positive people.
Unlike normal drug-sensitive TB, which is normally cured, the risk of dying from multidrug-resistant TB is very high, unless you very quickly receive treatment consisting of anti-TB drugs that still work.
In the early 1990s there were outbreaks of multidrug-resistant TB that have caused deaths on HIV wards in two UK hospitals.
To help control the spread of multidrug-resistant TB, it is often necessary for a person with it to stay in hospital in isolation, until treatment has started to be effective. Thanks to such measures, there has not been an outbreak of multi-drug resistant TB in a UK hospital for many years.
Treating multidrug-resistant TB is much harder than treating normal drug-sensitive TB. People who have it need to take more anti-TB drugs for longer. Treatment for up to two years or more may be required. Drugs used to treat multidrug-resistant TB include streptomycin, kanamycin, clarithromycin, amikacin, capreomycin, and flouroquinolone.
Some of these drugs can also interact with anti-HIV medication or have unpleasant side-effects and close monitoring is needed.
Multidrug resistant TB should only be treated by an expert doctor.