[Molecular-genetic method of identification of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis].

Above two million people annually die worldwide of tuberculosis. There has been a serious uptrend in the tuberculosis morbidity observed during the recent decade in Russia. The growing prevalence of drug-resistant strains of pathogens is highly dangerous. A timely diagnosis reduces significantly the risk of epidemics. The use of molecular methods cuts the time of tuberculosis diagnosis, including its resistant forms, from several weeks to several days. The presented survey contains a discussion of modem methods used for identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to the main anti-TB drugs.