Drug-resistant tuberculosis, clinical virulence, and the dominance of the Beijing strain family in Russia.

Context: Tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a serious public health problem in Russia.

Objective: To address the extent of "Beijing strain" transmission in the prison/civil sectors and the association of drug resistance, clinical, and social factors with the Beijing genotype.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional population-based molecular epidemiological study of all civilian and penitentiary tuberculosis facilities in the Samara region, Russia.