The global spread of multidrug resistant Tuberculosis pathogens
From East Asia in the world: The global spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mdb) strains.
An international group of scientists unraveled for the first time the global spread of multidrug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains. The study shows that efficient tuberculosis (TB) surveillance based on molecular methods is essential to detect outbreaks of MDR-TB strains and to contain the global emergence of MDR-TB. DZIF scientists from the Reserch Center Borstel led the study in cooperation with French colleagues.
“We could demonstrate, that the origin of the Beijing lineage is in East Asia and that it has spread across the globe in different waves triggered by human migration events” says Prof. Niemann, coordinator of the study at the Research Center Borstel and head of the DZIF priority area “tuberculosis”. An international consortium of 55 scientists guided by Prof Stefan Niemann and his French colleagues Prof. Philip Supply (Institute Pasteur de Lille) and Prof. Thierry Wirth (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris) addressed these questions and investigated the evolution and geographical distribution of tubercle bacilli of the so-called Beijing lineage.
The researchers analyzed the DNA fingerprints of nearly 5,000 clinical Mtb Beijing strains from 99 countries to define the global population structure of the Beijing lineage and detect the global spread of particular subtypes. In addition, the genome sequence of 110 strains was determined to define changes in the genetic make-up potentially contributing to an enhanced fitness of MDR strains. The results of this study have been published in the renowned journal Nature Genetics.
The rapid resistance detection and the development of new antituberculous drugs are key questions in the tuberculosis unit of the DZIF. Here, the translation of the basic research results into application is of particular importance.
