Influence Of Mycobacterial And Host Factors On Antibiotic Resistance And Tolerance Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Duration
2018 – 2023

Principal Investigator
Associate Professor Nguyen Thuy Thuong Thuong

This study will investigate drug-tolerant tuberculosis (TB) bacterial cells in TB patients to understand their frequency, the factors that govern their development, and how their presence might influence the outcomes of treatment.

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) requires drug treatment for several months to be cured, possibly because some of the TB-causing bacteria are tolerant to the drugs and continue to survive when the rest of the bacteria are killed. These tolerant TB bacteria may delay the cure of TB and may also lead to the reappearance of TB when treatment is stopped.

The number of tolerant bacteria and the factors leading to tolerance are poorly defined. It is important to understand tolerance better as it may lead to new drugs that overcome tolerance and thereby shorten the treatment of TB.