TB-ARC - Moldova

NIAID-funded study of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from a multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) outbreak in The Republic of Moldova. In an attempt to mitigate the impact of this crisis, Moldova has invested in a robust surveillance system that includes drug susceptibility tests for all individuals with culture-positive TB, an electronic medical record (EMR) that links laboratory, clinical, demographic, and location data for each patient, and a M. tuberculosis specimen storage facility that contains frozen isolates from most patients with culture-positive TB. These countrywide specimen and data repositories offer an unprecedented opportunity for a high-resolution investigation of the transmission dynamics of MDR-TB in one of the highest risk settings in the world.