Just curious——what do those initials mean after tuberculosis?
I didn’t know there were so many types.
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That gets scary in a hurry.
(DR/MDR/XDR/CDR)
DR - Drug Resistant. DR means resistant to the most common drugs used for treatment. It is difficult to determine, because while most bacteria reproduce about every half hour, TB only reproduces about once a day. And dead bacillus look like living bacillus unless stained. Currently the vast majority of cases are normal TB, not DR-TB.
MDR - Multiple Drug Resistant. Hospitalize if possible for a year or two, because very potent antibiotics are used since most common antibiotics do not work.
XDR - eXtensively Drug Resistant. About even odds for survival. Must be incarcerated in a quarantine area, possibly for life.
CDR - Completely Drug Resistant. There have only been two outbreaks of this, both in India. Everyone who got the disease died, and quickly, so the epidemic burned itself out.