The nationwide tuberculosis drug resistance survey in Mongolia, 1999.

Setting: Mongolia, a country in the Western Pacific Region burdened with many cases of tuberculosis, with rapid expansion of DOTS over the last several years.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of resistance to major anti-tuberculosis drugs among tuberculosis patients who have never been treated previously.

Design: Sputum specimens were collected from all smear-positive tuberculosis patients identified from 1 November 1998 to 1 May 1999.