Nurlan Takenov is a PhD student and laboratory bacteriologist at the National Scientific Center of Phthisiopulmonology. As a young specialist he have participated and presented abstracts in two Union conferences in last 3 years. Mr. Nurlan has a strong background in molecular biology and TB diagnostics. As a member of the national reference laboratory he is highly interested in improving the laboratory TB diagnostics in the region.
Kazakhstan has seen a relative stabilization in DR-TB rates over the past five years. The emergence of resistance to new drugs is concerning, but improvements in diagnostics and treatment may have contributed to controlling overall resistance levels.
Source: Conference 2024The strikingly high prevalence of the katG S315T mutation among INH-resistant MTB isolates in Kazakhstan highlights the dominance of a specific resistant clone or lineage. This findings highlight the urgent need to incorporate katG S315T detection into molecular diagnostic tests. The use of the updated Xpert MTB/XDR assay is particularly important, as the older Xpert MTB/RIF test only detects RIF-resistance and may miss INH-monoresistance, which accounts over 10% of cases. Failure to detect INH-resistance can lead to inappropriate treatment and further transmission.
Source: Conference 2024