Molecular Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> Isolates Using <i>IS6110</i> Gene in Tuberculosis Patients

Background and Aim: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tuberculosis) is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases all over the world.Diagnosis of M. tuberculosis based on the culture and phenotypic tests takes weeks that make them inappropriate methods to evaluate a definitive diagnosis.PCR on the IS6110 gene is an accurate, quick, and inexpensive method for the M. tuberculosis detection.This study aimed to provide molecular diagnosis for the strains of M. tuberculosis resistant to the first-line drugs (rifampin and isoniazid) by IS6110 gene PCR.Materials and Methods: Of the 3012 Mycobacterium suspected cases, 60 samples of mycobacterium drug-resistant (MDR) were examined by smear, culture, phenotypic tests, and antibiogram.The isolates were identified by IS6110 gene amplification.Results & Conclusion: Among 60 tested samples, 54 (90%) positive samples from the M. tuberculosis group and 6 (10%) negative samples from non-tuberculosis group were reported.Out of 3012 clinical samples, 100 (3.3%) cultures were positive, 3 samples (5%) were resistant to rifampin, and the other samples (94%) were MDR.The IS6110 gene is one of the best markers for the Mycobacterium complex differentiation.This study showed that IS6110 gene PCR is a simple and accurate method for identifying drug resistance in M. tuberculosis clinical isolates.It is recommended to use molecular methods especially IS6110 gene sequencing instead of time-consuming with high variability phenotypic methods.