PLOS Global Public Health (Jan 2023)

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

  • Mohamed Abdelrahman Mohamed,
  • Omer Abdikarin Ali,
  • Aamir Muse Osman,
  • Mustapha Goni Abatcha,
  • Abdirahman Abdirizak Ahmed,
  • Ali Mohamed Ali,
  • Abdifatah Ahmed Dirie,
  • Celso José Bruno de Oliveira,
  • Abdinasir Yusuf Osman,
  • Shu-Hua Wang,
  • Rafael F C Vieira

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002319
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 9
p. e0002319

Abstract

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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.