Increase in rifampicin resistance among people previously treated for TB

Abstract

People previously treated for TB are at a higher risk of rifampicin- resistant or multidrug-resistant TB (RR/ MDR-TB). Uganda’s recent RR-TB estimates were not updated, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using programmatic data (2012–2021), we report on the distribution and trends in RR-TB among people previously treated for bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB (BC-PTB) across six TB clinics in Kampala, Uganda. The RR-TB prevalence between 2012 and 2015 was 0% (95% CI 0–2.3). The prevalence rose significantly in recent years to 7.0% (95% CI 4.4–10.8) between 2016 and 2021 (P < 0.001). RR-TB is increasing among people previously treated for BC-PTB in Kampala; surveillance for RR-TB should be enhanced.