The impact of COVID-19 national lockdowns on drug-resistant tuberculosis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: A spatial analysis.

Purpose: We sought to understand the impact of the initial COVID-19 mitigation strategies in 2020 on drug-resistant (DR) TB diagnoses in KwaZulu-Natal province (KZN), South Africa.

Methods: We compared the number, spatial distribution, and characteristics of DR TB diagnoses before and after the initial COVID-19 lockdown on March 26th, 2020. Information on DR TB diagnoses was collected from the CONTEXT prospective cohort study and municipality characteristics were collected from Statistics South Africa.

Evaluating systematic targeted universal testing for tuberculosis in primary care clinics of South Africa: A cluster-randomized trial (The TUTT Trial).

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends systematic symptom screening for tuberculosis (TB). However, TB prevalence surveys suggest that this strategy does not identify millions of TB patients, globally. Undiagnosed or delayed diagnosis of TB contribute to TB transmission and exacerbate morbidity and mortality.

Bedaquiline resistance in drug-resistant tuberculosis HIV co-infected patients.

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Evolving rifampicin and isoniazid mono-resistance in a high multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis region: a retrospective data analysis.

Objectives: South Africa ranks among the highest drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) burdened countries in the world. This study assessed the changes in resistance levels in culture confirmed (MTB) in the highest burdened province of South Africa during a period where major changes in diagnostic algorithm were implemented.

Setting: This study was conducted at the central academic laboratory of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.