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Translating basic science insight into public health action for multidrug- and extensively drug resistant-tuberculosis
Respirology, 05/04/2012
Walter ND et al. – Multidrug (MDR)– and extensively drug resistant (XDR) –tuberculosis (TB) impose a heavy toll of human suffering and social costs. Controlling drug–resistant–TB is a complex global public health challenge. Basic science advances including elucidation of the genetic basis of resistance have enabled development of new assays which are transforming the diagnosis of MDR–TB. In the future, progress in understanding M. tuberculosis strain–specific human immune responses, integration of systems biology approaches with traditional epidemiology and insight into the biology of mycobacterial persistence have potential to be translated into new tools for diagnosis and treatment of MDR– and XDR–TB.
