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Researchers have decoded the gene map of a strain of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and said yesterday their work had identified mutations that may help develop better treatments.
They also sequenced the genome of another dangerous strain called multidrug-resistant TB, as well as run-of-the-mill tuberculosis bugs, and found a few mutations may explain how the mutant strains evade antibiotics.
"By looking at the genomes of different strains, we can learn how the tuberculosis microbe outwits current drugs and how new drugs might be designed," said Megan Murray of the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
The team at Broad, well known for its genome sequencing work, decided to make its findings public immediately instead of waiting to publish them in a scientific journal.
"It is important that genomic data be made immediately available, particularly to researchers in areas most heavily burdened by disease," said Broad spokesman Eric Lander.
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a disease caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It infects up to 2 billion people, one-third of the world's population, although most have latent, or inactive infections.
In 2005, 8.8 million people became infected with TB and 1.6 million died of it. It takes months of careful antibiotic treatment to clear the infection.
An estimated 500,000 people globally have multidrug-resistant, or MDR TB, according to the World Health Organisation.
- Reuters
