Can molecular methods detect 1% isoniazid resistance in mycobacterium tuberculosis?

Abstract

Patients may harbor both drug-susceptible and -resistant bacteria, representing heteroresistance. We studied mixtures of isoniazid- resistant and -susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Conventional drug susceptibility testing was the most sensitive method of detection, whereas the line probe assay and sequencing were not able to detect the clinically relevant 1% proportion of resistant bacteria. Copyright © 2013, American Society for Microbiology.