Genetic profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and treatment outcomes in human pulmonary tuberculosis in Tanzania.

Information on the different spoligotype families of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Tanzania is limited, and where available, restricted to small geographical areas. This article describes the genetic profile of M tuberculosis across Tanzania and suggests how spoligotype families might affect drug resistance and treatment outcomes for smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Tanzania. We conducted the study from 2006 to 2008, and the isolates were obtained from samples collected under the routine drug resistance surveillance system.

Evaluation of the Genotype® MTBDRplus assay as a tool for drug resistance surveys.

Setting: A national tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance survey in Tanzania.

Objective: To compare the performance of the Genotype® MTBDRplus line-probe assay (LPA) on smear-positive sputum specimens with conventional culture and isoniazid (INH) plus rifampicin (RMP) drug susceptibility testing (DST).

Design: Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates tested at the Tanzanian Central TB Reference Laboratory (CTRL) were submitted for quality assurance of phenotypic DST to its supranational reference laboratory (SRL), together with ethanol-preserved sputum specimens for LPA DST.

National anti-tuberculosis drug resistance study in Tanzania.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in a national representative sample of tuberculosis (TB) patients in Tanzania according to recommended methodology.

Design: Cluster survey, with 40 clusters sampled proportional to size, of notified TB patients from all diagnostic centres in the country.

Results: The survey enrolled 1019 new and 148 retreatment patients.

Implementation of a national anti-tuberculosis drug resistance survey in Tanzania.

Background: A drug resistance survey is an essential public health management tool for evaluating and improving the performance of National Tuberculosis control programmes. The current manuscript describes the implementation of the first national drug resistance survey in Tanzania.

Methods: Description of the implementation process of a national anti-tuberculosis drug resistance survey in Tanzania, in relation to the study protocol and Standard Operating Procedures.

Performance and acceptability of the FluoLED Easy module for tuberculosis fluorescence microscopy.

Setting: Tuberculosis (TB) reference laboratory in Bangkok, Thailand, and two health centres in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Objectives: To assess the performance and user-friendliness of a light-emitting diode (LED) module (FluoLED Easy) for TB fluorescence microscopy (FM).

Design: Equivalence study vs.