XDR-TB: Traditional antibiotics just don't cut the mustard.Doctors in Glasgow have diagnosed what is believed to be the UK's first ever case of extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).
A Somalian man is undergoing treatment for the disease at the city's Gartnavel General Hospital. The thirty-something year old asylum seeker entered the UK sometime last year. He was routinely screened for infectious diseases before being allowed passage into the UK. It is believed that x-ray examination reveal old TB scarring on his lungs, but he was allowed to continue into the country because the disease was apparently inactive.
Domestic cases of TB are increasing but this is the first time the XDR strain has been detected in the UK. Just as the name suggests this strain does not respond effectively to traditional antibiotics.
A spokesman for Gartnavel General Hospital said: "We can confirm a case of drug-resistant tuberculosis is being treated at the hospital.
A Somalian man is undergoing treatment for the disease at the city's Gartnavel General Hospital. The thirty-something year old asylum seeker entered the UK sometime last year. He was routinely screened for infectious diseases before being allowed passage into the UK. It is believed that x-ray examination reveal old TB scarring on his lungs, but he was allowed to continue into the country because the disease was apparently inactive.
Domestic cases of TB are increasing but this is the first time the XDR strain has been detected in the UK. Just as the name suggests this strain does not respond effectively to traditional antibiotics.
A spokesman for Gartnavel General Hospital said: "We can confirm a case of drug-resistant tuberculosis is being treated at the hospital.
"We are in touch with all close contacts of the patient, and where appropriate they will be screened.
"The strain is not any more infectious than normal TB. The main concern is that it is resistant to antibiotics, which makes it much harder to treat."
The first ever reported case of XDR-TB was back in 2006 shortly before 53 virtually untreatable cases of the disease were reported in South Africa.
The XDR strain of the disease, although requiring an alternative approach to treatment, is no more contagious than normal forms of the disease which are spread via the air or by close personal contact.
Dr Jim McMenamen, a consultant epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland, told the BBC: "I don't think that there's any risk to the general population because we have taken very prompt measures to try and manage the chance of this person spreading the infection to others."
The XDR strain of the disease, although requiring an alternative approach to treatment, is no more contagious than normal forms of the disease which are spread via the air or by close personal contact.
Dr Jim McMenamen, a consultant epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland, told the BBC: "I don't think that there's any risk to the general population because we have taken very prompt measures to try and manage the chance of this person spreading the infection to others."
