Surveillance of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Taiwan, 2008-2019

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a major contributor to global cases of antimicrobial resistance and remains a public health challenge. To understand the extent and trend of DR-TB under an enhanced multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) management program, we conducted a population-based retrospective study of 1511 Taiwanese MDR-TB cases reported from 2008 to 2019.

We obtained patient demographics and clinical and bacteriological information from the National TB Registry and the Infectious Disease Notification System.

Of the 1511 MDR-TB patients, 941 were new cases, 485 were previously treated, and 85 had an unknown history of treatment. The male to female ratio was 2.75, and the median age of the patients was 57 years (IQR: 45-72). We observed a significant decline in MDR-TB cases, with annual percentage change (APC) of -4.17%. However, new and previously treated MDR-TB cases had APCs of -1.41% and -9.18%, respectively. The rates of MDR-TB resistance to ethambutol, streptomycin and pyrazinamide were 47.2%, 42.4% and 28.9%, respectively, whereas the rates of resistance to fluoroquinolones and second-line injectable drugs (SLIDs) were 4.1-7.1%, 9.0-14.1%; and the rate of extensively drug-resistant TB was 1.9%, respectively. Furthermore, we observed a decreasing trend of resistance to SLIDs (APCs -7.0% to -8.2%) in new cases and a significant decreasing trend of resistance to moxifloxacin (-24.6%) and levofloxacin (-23.3%) in previously treated cases.

The decreasing trend of MDR-TB and resistance to second-line drugs suggested that our programmatic management of TB was effective and that the impact on TB control was profound.