Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 12, Number 5—May 2006
Letter

Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Taiwan

Ruwen Jou*Comments to Author , Pei-Chun Chuang*, Ying-Shun Wu†, Jing-Jou Yan‡, and Kwen-Tay Luh§
Author affiliations: *Center for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; †Chest Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China; ‡National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China; §National Association of Tuberculosis, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

Main Article

Table

Drug resistance patterns in Taiwan, 1960–2004

Hospital* No. strains Study period Drug resistance (%)†
INH EMB RMP SM Any MDR Methods Reference‡
Primary drug resistance
A 162 1960–1962 13.4 11.7 22.2 Absolute concentration (6)
B 154 1962 8.4 7.8 14.3 (6)
B 557 1971–1972 22.6 15.4 30.8 Resistance ratio on SM; absolute concentration on INH and EMB (6)
B 1,914 1979–1982 8.4 0.1 0 9.2 17.9 Absolute concentration (6)
B 1,924 1984–1988 6.8 0.4 0.2 5.0 9.9 Resistance ratio (1984–1986); absolute concentration (1986–1988) (6)
B 1,935 1990–1995 9.2 0.7 1.5 5.7 12.3 1.2 Absolute concentration (6)
B 249 1996 12.0 0.8 2.0 4.8 16.1 1.6 Absolute concentration (7)
C 254 1996–1999 4.7 5.9 5.9 11.0 22.0 1.6 Proportion (8)
D 456 2001–2002 14.9 2.6 3.3 11.4 20.6 2.4 BACTEC 960 (9)
E 190 2001–2002 11.1 5.8 2.1 5.3 16.8 2.1 Proportion (6)
F 611 2002–2004 6.8 0.8 1.8 6.2 12.8 1.8 Proportion NA
Acquired drug resistance
B 200 1996 63.0 28.5 46.5 21.5 67.0 46.0 Absolute concentration (7)
C 199 1996–1999 25.6 11.1 32.2 17.1 49.2 15.1 Proportion (8)
B 183 2000–2001 37.7 10.9 25.1 17.5 42.6 24.6 Absolute concentration (10)
D 57 2001–2002 31.6 15.8 17.5 19.3 36.8 15.8 BACTEC 960 (9)
E 62 2001–2002 54.8 33.9 45.2 17.7 64.5 45.2 Proportion (6)
F 324 2002–2004 50.9 12.6 44.4 17.9 55.8 42.2 Proportion NA
Combined drug resistance
G 942 1982–1986 20.4 15.3 8.8 9.8 27.8 8.1 Proportion (11)
A 651 1990–1992 14.7 10.3 10.6 11.2 22.6 8.3 Proportion (9)
G 884 1992–1996 20.9 12.8 11.8 9.1 28.9 10.1 Proportion (11)
B 1,091 1996 31.5 11.4 18.2 11.9 35.5 17.3 Absolute concentration (7)
C 453 1996–1999 13.9 8.2 17.4 13.7 34.0 7.5 Proportion (8)
H 693 1996–2000 35.9 15.7 13.4 28.6 52.4 11.4 Proportion (12)
I 1,411 1998–2002 19.0 15.7 6.1 10.0 30.5 5.1 Proportion (13)
D 513 2001–2002 16.8 4.1 4.9 12.3 22.4 3.9 BACTEC 960 (9)
E 252 2001–2002 21.8 12.7 12.7 8.3 28.6 12.8 Proportion (6)
F 935 2002–2004 22.2 5.2 16.5 10.2 27.6 15.8 Proportion NA

*A, Taipei Veterans General Hospital (medical center); B, Taiwan Provincial Chronic Disease Control Bureau (referral center); C, Taipei Municipal Chronic Disease Hospital (referral center); D, Changhua Christian Hospital (medical center); E, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital (medical center); F, Chest Hospital (referral center); G, Chang–Gung Memorial Hospital (medical center); H, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (medical center); I, National Taiwan University Hospital (medical center).
†INH, isoniazid; EMB, ethambutol; RMP, rifampin; SM, streptomycin; Any, resistance to any 1 of INH, EMB, RMP, or SM; MDR, resistance to at least INH and RMP.
‡NA, not available.

Main Article

References
  1. Anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in the world report no. 3 [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2006 Mar 3]. Available from http://www.who.int/tb/publications/who_htm_tb_2004_343/en/index.html
  2. Center for Disease Control, Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan. Statistics of communicable diseases and surveillance report in Taiwan area, 2003 [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2006 Mar 3]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov.tw/en/index.asp
  3. Chiang  IH, Yu  MC, Bai  KJ, Wu  MP, Hsu  CJ, Lin  TP, Drug resistance patterns of tuberculosis in Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. 1998;97:5813.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Chiang  CY, Hsu  CJ, Huang  RM, Lin  TP, Luh  KT. Antituberculosis drug resistance among retreatment tuberculosis patients in a referral center in Taipei. J Formos Med Assoc. 2004;103:4115.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Lu  PL, Lee  YW, Peng  CF, Tsai  JJ, Chen  YH, Hwang  KP, The decline of high drug resistance rate of pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from a southern Taiwan medical centre, 1996–2000. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2003;21:23943. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Lee  JJ, Lee  CN, Suo  J, Chiang  IH, Lin  CB, Lin  TY, Drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in eastern Taiwan. Tzu Chi Med J. 2003;15:229–34. Available from http://www.tzuchi.com.tw/tcmj/92-4/3.htm
  7. Chiang  IH, Yu  MC, Bai  KJ, Wu  MP, Hsu  CJ, Lin  TP, Drug resistance patterns of tuberculosis in Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. 1998;97:5813.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Wang  PD, Lin  RS. Drug-resistant tuberculosis in Taipei, 1996–1999. [li>]. Am J Infect Control. 2001;29:417. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Liu  CE, Chen  CH, Hsiao  JH, Young  TG, Tsay  RW, Fung  CP. Drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in central Taiwan. J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2004;37:295300.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Chiang  CY, Hsu  CJ, Huang  RM, Lin  TP, Luh  KT. Antituberculosis drug resistance among retreatment tuberculosis patients in a referral center in Taipei. J Formos Med Assoc. 2004;103:4115.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Tsao  TCY, Chiou  W, Lin  H, Wu  T, Lin  M, Yang  P, Change in demographic picture and increase of drug resistance in pulmonary tuberculosis in a 10-year interval in Taiwan. Infection. 2002;30:7580. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Lu  PL, Lee  YW, Peng  CF, Tsai  JJ, Chen  YH, Hwang  KP, The decline of high drug resistance rate of pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from a southern Taiwan medical centre, 1996–2000. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2003;21:23943. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Liaw  YS, Hsueh  PR, Yu  CJ, Wang  SK, Yang  PC, Luh  KT. Drug resistance pattern of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a university hospital in Taiwan, 1998–2002. J Formos Med Assoc. 2004;103:6717.PubMedGoogle Scholar

Main Article

Page created: January 12, 2012
Page updated: January 12, 2012
Page reviewed: January 12, 2012
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external