Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis among male inmates in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Lourenço, Maria Cristina da SilvaSilva, Marlei Gomes daFonseca, Leila de Souza

Susceptibility tests to six anti-tuberculosis drugs were performed on fifty-eight M. tuberculosis isolates obtained from tuberculous inmates in the Male Penal Sanatorium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The rate of resistant tuberculosis was higher than observed in the community. The overall resistance rate was 17.2 (per cent) and 3.4 (per cent) of the isolates were multi-drug resistant.