Researchers identify tuberculosis strain that thrives on antibiotic
Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient in China and is described in a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Chongqing Pulmonary Hospital, Lanzhou University and Fudan University. The researchers determined that the bacteria grew poorly in the absence of the antibiotic rifampin and better in the presence of the drug. They also observed that the patient's condition grew worse with treatment regimens containing rifampin, before being cured with rifampin-free regimens. The study, which will appear in the January 2010 issue of the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, is among the first to document the treatment of a patient with rifampin-dependent infection...
