Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden. boris.kan@karolinska.se
SETTING: City of Stockholm, Sweden.
BACKGROUND: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Sweden increased by 40% between 2003 and 2005. The spread of a unique TB strain resistant to isoniazid (INH) contributed to this increase.
OBJECTIVE: To describe outbreaks of TB caused by this single strain, elucidate possible causes for its extensive spread and identify shortcomings of the TB control programme in Sweden.
RESULTS: We identified a cluster consisting of 102 culture-confirmed TB cases with identical DNA fingerprints and 26 epidemiologically related cases, not confirmed by culture, all diagnosed between 1996 and 2005. Five partly separate outbreaks of this strain were discovered. Epidemiological links were established for 56% of the culture-confirmed cases and for all cases not confirmed by culture. Three patients died while receiving treatment, four became failures and eight defaulted or were lost to follow-up. Only eight patients received directly observed treatment (DOT) up to a period of 3 months, although 40% had poor adherence.
CONCLUSIONS: Shortcomings of the national TB programme were revealed. Improved contact tracing and case holding, including DOT, is crucial to reduce TB transmission in Sweden.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18230254
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