[The resistance status of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Austria 1992 and 1993].

Tuberculosis caused by resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains seems to be of increasing importance in some parts of the world. Aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and nature of the resistance occurring among the strains isolated in Eastern Austria in 1992 and 1993. 7.4% of all strains isolated from 608 patients in 1992 and 6.2% of those isolated from 497 patients in 1993 were resistant to one or more tuberculostatic drugs, 2.3% in 1992 and 3.0% in 1993 of the strains were resistant to isoniazid, 0.5 and < 0.1 respectively, to rifampicin. Multidrug-resistant strains were found in 2.8% of the isolates in 1992 and 2.2% in 1993.