Scientists have discovered that strains of tuberculosis (TB) with a supposedly lethal mutation can, in fact, survive and that the mutation makes the bacteria resistant to an important antibiotic
ISLAMABAD (Pakistan Point News / Online - 08th February, 2020) Scientists have discovered that strains of tuberculosis (TB) with a supposedly lethal mutation can, in fact, survive and that the mutation makes the bacteria resistant to an important antibiotic.Scientists from Uppsala University, in Sweden, have discovered that TB can survive a mutation that should, theoretically, kill it.Furthermore, the team has found that this mutation has made the affected strains of TB resistant to the antibiotic rifampicin.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), rifampicin is the most effective first-line drug for treating TB infections.The researchers have described their discovery in the journal Proceedings of the National academy of Sciences of the United States of America.TB is a preventable and treatable bacterial infection. It typically affects a person's lungs, but signs and symptoms can occur in other parts of the body.As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explain, TB is an airborne infection it spreads when someone who has an active TB infection in their lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings.
In 2018, 1.5 million people died from TB globally, and in the United States there were 9,025 TB cases.Treating TB typically requires a person to take four antibiotics for 6-9 months. Because TB is developing resistance to many antibiotics, predicting which drugs are likely to be effective is crucial.Scientists and doctors can now anticipate which antibiotics will treat the type of TB behind each infection using DNA sequencing.
