Multidrug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB)

In 2015, there were an estimated 480 000 new cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and an additional 100,000 people with rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) who were also newly eligible for MDR-TB treatment. Drug resistance surveillance data show that 3.9% of new and 21% of previously treated TB cases were estimated to have had rifampicin- or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) in 2015. As in 2014, MDR-TB accounts for 3.3% of new TB cases.

MDR/RR-TB caused 250,000 deaths in 2015. Most cases and deaths occurred in Asia. About 9.5% of MDR-TB cases have additional drug-resistance, extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). To date, 117 countries worldwide have reported at least one XDR-TB case.