Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to implement targeted next-generation sequencing for personalised treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) at Kasturba Hospital.
This WHO-recommended diagnostic tool aims to significantly reduce the time needed to detect drug resistance. The city records around 4,000 to 5,000 cases of drug-resistant TB annually, caused by strains unresponsive to first-line anti-TB drugs.
“Targeted sequencing diagnoses TB and identifies which drugs the patient is resistant to and which they are sensitive to. Technologies like nanopore kits are available, but they are very expensive,” said a microbiologist at a public hospital. The announcement for the initiative was made in the recent budget along with promises of providing a kit containing a mask, sanitiser, and spittoon for TB patients; however, the exact costs have not yet been provided.
In 2023, KEM Hospital launched a whole genome sequencing (WGS) project aimed at sequencing 2,500 multi-drug resistant TB cases. “The results are pending, and we will hold a meeting this week to review the progress of that initiative,” said Dr Varsha Puri, city TB officer.
In contrast to WGS, which sequences the entire genome, targeted next-generation sequencing focuses on specific genes associated with drug resistance, making it faster. “As it is not part of the national TB elimination programme, the use of genomic sequencing is currently limited to research,” the microbiologist said.
A doctor from KEM added, “At present, JJ Hospital is the only public hospital in the city that is doing genomic sequencing.”
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to implement targeted next-generation sequencing for personalised treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) at Kasturba Hospital.
This WHO-recommended diagnostic tool aims to significantly reduce the time needed to detect drug resistance. The city records around 4,000 to 5,000 cases of drug-resistant TB annually, caused by strains unresponsive to first-line anti-TB drugs.
“Targeted sequencing diagnoses TB and identifies which drugs the patient is resistant to and which they are sensitive to. Technologies like nanopore kits are available, but they are very expensive,” said a microbiologist at a public hospital. The announcement for the initiative was made in the recent budget along with promises of providing a kit containing a mask, sanitiser, and spittoon for TB patients; however, the exact costs have not yet been provided.
In 2023, KEM Hospital launched a whole genome sequencing (WGS) project aimed at sequencing 2,500 multi-drug resistant TB cases. “The results are pending, and we will hold a meeting this week to review the progress of that initiative,” said Dr Varsha Puri, city TB officer.
In contrast to WGS, which sequences the entire genome, targeted next-generation sequencing focuses on specific genes associated with drug resistance, making it faster. “As it is not part of the national TB elimination programme, the use of genomic sequencing is currently limited to research,” the microbiologist said.
A doctor from KEM added, “At present, JJ Hospital is the only public hospital in the city that is doing genomic sequencing.”