National Survey of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in China

The available information on the epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis in China is based on local or regional surveys. In 2007, we carried out a national survey of drug-resistant tuberculosis in China.

We estimated the proportion of tuberculosis cases in China that were resistant to drugs by means of cluster-randomized sampling of tuberculosis cases in the public health system and testing for resistance to the first-line antituberculosis drugs isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and streptomycin and the second-line drugs ofloxacin and kanamycin. We used the results from this survey and published estimates of the incidence of tuberculosis to estimate the incidence of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Information from patient interviews was used to identify factors linked to drug resistance.