Assessment of drug-susceptible and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the Central Region of Somalia: A 3-year retrospective study

• Published in: PLOS global public health Vol. 3; no. 9; p. e0002319
• Main Authors: Mohamed, Mohamed Abdelrahman, Ali, Omer Abdikarin, Osman, Aamir Muse, Abatcha, Mustapha Goni, Ahmed, Abdirahman Abdirizak, Ali, Ali Mohamed, Dirie, Abdifatah Ahmed, de Oliveira, Celso José Bruno, Osman, Abdinasir Yusuf, Wang, Shu-Hua, Vieira, Rafael F. C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco, CA USA Public Library of Science 07-09-2023; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biology and Life Sciences; Medicine and Health Sciences; People and Places; Research and Analysis Methods
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002319
• EISSN: 2767-3375

BACKGROUNDMultidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains a public health emergency and a threat globally. Although increasing MDR-TB cases have been recently reported in Somalia, limited information is known. This study aims to determine the prevalence of drug-susceptible and MDR-TB in suspected patients referred to the TB Department in Mudug Hospital, Galkayo, Somalia, and identify potential factors associated with MDR-TB. METHODSA 3-year hospital laboratory-based retrospective study was conducted by manually reviewing laboratory records of Mycobacterium tuberculosis specimens and GeneXpert MTB/RIF results from January 2019 to December 2021 at the reference mycobacteria laboratory department in Mudug Hospital. RESULTSA total of 714 positive GeneXpert-MTB results were identified: 619 (86.7%) were drug susceptible (no Rifampin resistance [RR] detected) and 95 (13.3%) with RR detected or defined as MDR-TB. Most of the MDR-TB patients were males (71.6%, 68/95) and between the ages of 15 to 24 (31.6%, 30/95). Most isolates were collected in 2021 (43.2%, 41/95). Multivariate analyses show no significant difference between patients having MDR-TB and/or drug-susceptible TB for all variables. CONCLUSIONThis study showed an alarming frequency of MDR-TB cases among M. tuberculosis-positive patients at a regional TB reference laboratory in central Somalia.