[Resistance and multiresistance to antitubercular drugs in Argentina and in other Latin American countries].

Resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to both isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RPM), the most important antituberculosis drugs, with or without simultaneous resistance to other drugs, is known as multidrug resistance (MDR). It is the main obstacle to attain the cure of patients by the specific treatment, and a threat to the tuberculosis control. Between 1994 and 1997, several Latin American countries undertook countrywide surveys or surveillance programs to determine their primary and acquired drug resistance prevalence rates. These studies followed the WHO/International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD) guidelines. Percentages of not previously treated patients with tuberculosis due to MDR strains ranged from null or very small (Uruguay, Cuba, Chile) to 4% or higher (Dominican Republic, Argentina). In Argentina, a remarkable correlation between MDR tuberculosis, AIDS and the assistance in urban reference hospitals for infections diseases was observed. Coincidentally with the survey, nosocomial spread of HIV-related MDR tuberculosis occurred in two of these hospitals situated in Buenos Aires and Rosario. But, at the same time, an alarming emergence of MDR was evidenced among non HIV-infected patients with history of previous antituberculosis treatment. Directly observed treatment (DOT) should be increasingly applied, and drug supply guaranteed. Treatment as well as microscopy services for diagnosis and follow up of patients, should be decentralized from the big specialized hospitals in urban areas to the peripheral health centers, in order to make easier for the patients to attend regularly and receive their medications. These strategies will contribute to increase cure rates and to reduce the tuberculosis transmission.