ABSTRACT
The paper analyzes the detection rate of drug-resistant (DR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) in Yakutia. The proportion of DR MBT strains taken from bacterial isolating patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was found to be 70% and to have no tendency for decrease. The structure of DR MBT deteriorated due to the increase in multidrug-resistance (MDR). MDR in MBT was recorded in 45-50% of cases. Examination of lung resection specimens from patients with abacillary tuberculosis identified a population of typical MBT. The authors regarded this phenomenon as latent MBT carriage. The specific feature of this population is that it preserves a high metabolic activity in latency; DR was established in 76.3% of patients. Its most malignant form - MDR was established in a third (31.6%) of the patients. Under certain conditions, this mycobacterial infection may be of epidemic value in the spread of MBT in general and MDR strains in particular. Solution of the problems associated with the surgical treatment of patients with MDR tuberculosis may be beneficial in diminishing the most dangerous reservoir of tuberculous infection. Surgical intervention in MDR tuberculosis is one of the basic treatments.
