U.S.A.0Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:Improving Antibiotic Use for Tuberculosis Helps the U.S. Fight Antibiotic Resistance

Improving Antibiotic Use for Tuberculosis Helps the U.S. Fight Antibiotic Resistance

This World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, we’re celebrating the release of new guidelines that will help improve how we use antibiotics to prevent TB disease—a critical step in the fight against antibiotic resistance (AR) and ending TB.

According to CDC’s recent AR Threats Report, 847 cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis occurred in the United States in 2017 and 62 people died. Drug-resistant TB develops when the antibiotics used to treat TB are misused or mismanaged. Drug-resistant TB is spread the same way that drug-susceptible TB is spread—through the air from one person to another. One critical step to ending TB, including drug-resistant TB, in the United States is rapid diagnosis and treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI). The new LTBI treatment guidelines recommend a shorter treatment regimen—which means patients can complete the antibiotics faster and with fewer side effects.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, bacteria that usually attack the lungs and cause TB infection.

People with LTBI do not have symptoms, and they cannot spread TB bacteria to others. However, without treatment, up to 13 million people in the United States who have LTBI are at risk for developing TB disease in the future. In fact, more than 80 percent of people who get sick with TB disease in the United States each year get sick from longstanding, untreated LTBI. Improving antibiotic use and treating latent TB infection can help protect people from tuberculosis, including drug-resistant TB.  CDC will continue to rely on these strategies and collaborate to lead the world in tuberculosis elimination and the fight against antibiotic resistance.

Did you know? CDC's National Tuberculosis Molecular Surveillance Center, part of the AR Lab Network, performs whole genome sequencing (WGS) on 100% of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates identified in the United States—that’s about 15,000 samples since testing began in 2018. WGS can help detect existing and emerging resistance, track changes in resistance, identify outbreaks, and help us prepare for future outbreaks.

Clinicians, prescribers, and pharmacists play an important role in the U.S. strategy to end TB. Learn more about the difference in the treatment drugs and when to "think TB." More resources: World TB Day – Digital Media Toolkit About Tuberculosis About Drug-Resistant TB