Drug resistance and genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Luanda, Angola: a  molecular epidemiological perspective

"Sub-saharan Africa contributes heavily to the tuberculosis (TB) burden worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa exhibits the highest TB regional incidence rate (280 cases per 100 000 habitants) and the highest Human Immunodeficiency Virus co-infection rate (34%), both of which mostly driven by sub-saharan African countries (4). Yet, to this date, Angola has no surveillance data regarding drug resistance and the latest WHO estimates point to the occurrence of 69 000 new cases in 2013 and an incidence rate of 320 cases per 100 000 habitants in the same period (4). Additionally nothing is known regarding the genetic diversity and population structure of circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) strains. Its capital city, Luanda, harbours approximately 33.7% of the country’s population and is responsible for one-third of the TB cases nationwide. In the present study, we have addressed the genetic diversity and drug susceptibility profiles of circulating M. tuberculosis strains recovered from patients followed at a central Luanda hospital unit."