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Research papers have shown that younger patients who receive treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis including those based in India appear fewer than expected in official case data. Research experts argue that attention should be directed toward finding TB cases among children and teenagers. A TB patient develops multidrug-resistance when active bacteria strains resist two drugs that normally treat the infection effectively.

The bacterial disease presents a major challenge in elimination because multidrug-resistance extends the needed treatment duration while rendering infection transmission risks higher. The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal presented the research results.

Researchers used previous studies to study the multidrug-resistant treatment patterns of tuberculosis which affected children and adolescents under eighteen years of age. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with other reviewers conducted analyses of studies which included 42 independent reviews with 23,369 participants aged 19 or below from India and South Africa.

The research demonstrated successful treatment of 75% of pediatric and teenage patients while showing that their complete treatment spanned 16 months.

The authors stated that patients who are young or diagnosed by clinical methods show limited representation among tuberculosis cases of MDR and RR types highlighting the need for improved detection.

World Health Organisation steers patients toward Rifampicin as an essential medication for first-line TB treatment.

Seventy percent of study participants belonged to the age group of 15 to 19 years olds. The authors explained that these children display tuberculosis characteristics which microbiological tests can detect while following adult infection patterns.

A major study limitation exists because children younger than five years old were minimally represented although most children who die from TB occur in this group and lack medical intervention.

A research by Canadian University Toronto scientists reviewed 48 studies containing Indian research publications. Nearly ninety percent of children along with teenagers showed successful outcomes when treated for extensively drug-resistant TB based on tuberculosis examination results.