Early results of systematic drug susceptibility testing in pulmonary tuberculosis retreatment cases in Cameroon

Background The number of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients reported with resistance to first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs after a standardized retreatment regimen in Cameroon is increasing. Hence, the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) implemented, in one of the ten Regions of the country, a pilot programme aimed at performing routine drug susceptibility testing (DST) for previously treated PTB cases. The objectives of the programme were to evaluate the feasibility of monitoring drug resistance among retreatment cases under programme conditions and to measure the presence and magnitude of anti-TB drug resistance in order to inform NTP policies.