Increased prevalence of levofloxacin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in China is associated with specific mutations within the gyrA gene.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the prevalence of levofloxacin (LFX) resistance and the population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) with different mutations conferring LFX resistance between 2005 and 2015.

METHODS

A total 542 MTB isolates were randomly selected from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients in 2005 and 2015 and analyzed regarding minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR).

RESULTS

One hundred and eleven of the 542 MTB isolates analyzed (20.5%) were resistant to LFX. There were 42 and 69 LFX-resistant isolates from 2005 and 2015, respectively, and MIC high-level LFX resistance was significantly higher in 2015 (40.6%, 28/69) than in 2005 (16.7%, 7/42) (p = 0.02). There were 87 (78.4%) mutations of these 111 LFX-resistant isolates. In addition, a significant difference in proportion was observed in the isolates with mutations in codon 90 of the gyrA gene between 2005 and 2015 (11.9% in 2005 versus 29.0% in 2015, p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

There was an alarming increase in prevalence of LFX-resistant TB in China between 2005 and 2015. This dynamic change is mostly attributed to the increase in high-level LFX resistance. Moreover, a significant difference was noted in the proportion of LFX-resistant isolates harboring specific mutations within the gyrA gene between 2005 and 2015.