Predominance of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strain amongst children from a high tuberculosis burden township in South Africa.

The objective was to determine the molecular epidemiology and drug susceptibility patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) of children and their household contacts (HHC) in Umlazi, a high TB-burden township in South Africa. Sixty eight MTBRifPLUS positive TB-infected children (TIC) (≤14 years) and 111 HHC were enrolled. Drug susceptibility testing (DST) was performed on sputum samples using the proportion method and GenoType® MTBDR.

Laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive patients: Correlation with the uniform case definition.

Background: Laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has always been problematic. Using the uniform case definition suggested by Marais et al., we determined the sensitivity of a variety of laboratory tests.

Incidence and Geographic Distribution of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

South Africa is experiencing a widespread drug-resistant tuberculosis epidemic, although data are limited regarding the current situation. This study finds that the extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) incidence in KwaZulu-Natal increased to 3.5 cases/100,000 (776 cases) in 2011-2012.