Recent updates on drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) along with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and malaria rank among the top three fatal infectious diseases which pose threat to global public health, especially in middle and low income countries. TB caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an airborne infectious disease and one-third of the world's population gets infected with TB leading to nearly 1·6 million deaths annually. TB drugs are administered in different combinations of four first-line drugs (rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol) which form the core of treatment regimens in the initial treatment phase of 6-9 months. Several reasons account for the failure of TB therapy such as (i) late diagnosis, (ii) lack of timely and proper administration of effective drugs, (iii) lower availability of less toxic, inexpensive and effective drugs, (iv) long treatment duration, (v) nonadherence to drug regimen and (vi) evolution of drug-resistant TB strains. Drug-resistant TB poses a significant challenge to TB therapy and control programs. In the background of worldwide emergence of 558 000 new TB cases with resistance to rifampicin in the year 2017 and of them, 82% becoming multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), it is essential to continuously update the knowledge on the mechanisms and molecular basis for evolution of Mtb drug resistance. This narrative and traditional review summarizes the progress on the anti-tubercular agents, their mode of action and drug resistance mechanisms in Mtb. The aim of this review is to provide recent updates on drug resistance mechanisms, newly developed/repurposed anti-TB agents in pipeline and international recommendations to manage MDR-TB. It is based on recent literature and WHO guidelines and aims to facilitate better understanding of drug resistance for effective TB therapy and clinical management.